As delivered

It’s a pleasure to welcome you all here to launch GRECO’s 5th Evaluation Round.

I am glad to see all GRECO members well represented - not only our 47 member states, but also the United States of America and Belarus.

I am also happy to see representatives of many of our international partner organisations.

And I want to welcome, especially, representatives from the media, civil society and law enforcement. You provide us with an extremely useful “reality check”, in terms of what to look for in this new round, as well as things you think we can improve from previous rounds. We value this input very much.

Over the last year, allegations of corruption have continued to make headlines around the world.

In politics, in state institutions, in business, in the media, in international organisations, in sport. And in all sorts of states, including democracies, newer and more mature. No one, it seems, is immune.

The fact that these transgressions come to light is, of course, a good thing.

But the fact that they happen, and happen so frequently, is also contributing to a deep disconnect in our societies – a disconnect between citizens and the institutions and individuals they should be able to trust.

Nowhere is this more corrosive than in politics or among the police.

The sight of those meant to represent the people, or those who are meant to protect them, abusing their positions for personal gain feeds a disillusionment and sense of injustice that is already widespread across many of our communities.

And no one benefits more so than the populists, xenophobes and extremists who, in many of our societies, are playing precisely on these frustrations.

We live in turbulent times: trust in elites has plummeted; in many states, their institutions no longer command the solid confidence of their citizens; and corruption in government and in law enforcement is a gift to divisive forces looking to exploit this loss of trust.

If the Council of Europe has one big, political aim over the coming months and years, it is to help rebuild trust in democratic institutions.  In Europe we know, from our history, that this is essential for calm and stability.

And I am extremely pleased that, as part of this wider mission, GRECO’s 5th round will help tackle corruption and promote integrity in central governments, including the highest administrative functions of the state, and in law enforcement agencies.  

Round five follows the completion of four successful evaluation rounds.

Since 1999 GRECO has conducted nearly 200 evaluation visits and issued 500 evaluation and compliance reports, adopted by its members.

New laws have been put in place, and old laws amended.

Countless state practices have been improved.

Institutions have been set up or reformed.

Over time, GRECO has become a benchmark for anti-corruption efforts across Europe, and in the US.

Now we will use this credibility and expertise to help ensure that those who are entrusted with running our democracies, and those who are expected to guarantee respect for the Rule of Law, do so with honesty, ethics and transparency.

Because, if they do not lead by example, who does?

GRECO is not a formal investigative body. It will not be looking at specific individuals or their actions.

But it will help states make sure that they have in place robust accountability and enforcement mechanisms, which can guarantee that conflicts of interests are properly dealt with; that certain types of behaviour are prohibited; that government activities are transparent; and that “revolving doors” are strictly regulated; all in line with international standards. 

In governments, GRECO will look not only at the rules regulating those who hold office, but also those who advise them – the officials who often exercise a great deal of power, but who sometimes do so under far less scrutiny. 

And, in national law enforcement bodies, GRECO will also look specifically at agencies responsible for border control. I would like to commend GRECO for deciding to include these agencies in its monitoring.

Our Special Representative on Migration and Refugees has reported, in the course of his fact-finding visits, heightened risks of corruption in the management of migrant flows. It is a very low act indeed to exploit refugees for personal enrichment, and it is absolutely right that GRECO helps expose and prevent such wrongdoing.

I trust that all of GRECO’s members will give the monitoring body their full and active support as it embarks on this next stage of its work.

I know that the team attach great importance to producing evaluations which are balanced, even-handed and of a high quality.

They strive to craft recommendations which are thoughtful and rigorous, and I urge all states to fully implement them, and all stakeholders to get behind them.

Before that, however, we have invited you here to hear your views and experiences. Help us get this right so that, together, we make this next round a success. Thank you.