Council of Europe

• Council of Europe
• Human Rights and Rule of Law
• Group of States against corruption (GRECO)

GRECO urges Estonia to sharpen its corruption prevention policy concerning members of Parliament, judges and prosecutors

Press Release

Strasbourg, 8 January 2013 – The Council of Europe’s Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) has called on Estonia to make a number of improvements in its corruption prevention policy in respect of members of Parliament, judges and prosecutors.

In a report published today, GRECO acknowledges that Estonia remains one of the least corrupt countries in today’s Europe. Its legislative framework in the field under review is found to be satisfactory and would potentially become more focused following the entry into force in April 2013 of the revised Anti-Corruption Act. 

Nevertheless, a number of deficiencies have been identified which are mostly common to the three professional groups, namely the absence or insufficient definition of ethical principles and rules of conduct, the lack of practical guidance as regards the acceptance of gifts and other advantages and the weak supervision of rules on conflicts of interest, such as the annual disclosure of economic interests.

GRECO furthermore calls for the extension of the existing conflicts of interest regulations to members of Parliament and the elaboration of a Code of Conduct for and by parliamentarians, which should address, for example, outside employment, revolving doors, gifts, hospitality and other advantages. It also recommends the introduction of rules on how members of Parliament engage with lobbyists.

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GRECO was established in 1999 by the Council of Europe to monitor states’ compliance with the organisation’s anti-corruption standards. Currently it comprises 48 European states and the United States of America.

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