Council of Ministers approves a decision on the neutrality of the public administration. The Council of Ministers approved the decision on the implementation of the measures and monitoring of activities, behaviour and use of human, financial and logistic resources of state administration, during the general elections of June 2017. According to this Decision, civil servants are prohibited from attending political activities related to the electoral campaign during their working hours. The Decision prohibits the use of public goods or human and financial resources of the state for political campaigning purposes. Furthermore, state institutions have been prohibited from initiating new public procurement procedures, concession, or public–private partnerships unless it is deemed necessary for the daily functioning of their institution. Any exception has to be approved by the Prime Minister. A task force headed by Deputy Prime Minister and composed of various state institutions has been set up for monitoring the implementation of these measures.

The Central Election Commission (CEC) approves bylaws regulating the election campaign funding. Following the recent adoption of the amendments to the law “On Political parties”, the CEC approved three bylaws regulating election campaign finances and their oversight.  Instruction No.1, dated 31.05.2017 "On the use of propaganda materials and places for displaying them during the election campaign" provides restrictions on the use of static propaganda materials and the locations allowed for their display during the election campaign period. Instruction No. 2, dated 01.06.2017 "On the approval of procedures and criteria for selecting the preliminary list and the appointment of financial experts for monitoring the election campaign" sets the eligibility criteria of financial experts for monitoring the election campaign finances. Instruction No. 3, dated 02.06.2017 defines the method of calculating financial costs of activities, services or materials to be used for political purposes by political parties during election campaign. These bylaws were prepared with the assistance of the CoE/EU Horizontal Facility Action against Economic Crime in Albania (AEC-ALB) and the National Democratic Institute.

Albania elections: free campaigning, basic freedoms respected, but a politicised election administration reduced trust. The 25 June parliamentary elections in Albania took place following a political agreement between the leaders of the Socialist Party (SP) and Democratic Party (DP). According to the preliminary conclusions of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) and OSCE/ODHIR Election Observation Mission, electoral contestants were able to campaign freely and fundamental freedoms of assembly and expression were respected. The amended legislation contributed to transparency and accountability of campaign financing, addressing some Council of Europe recommendations. New measures to reduce campaign costs were welcomed and positively assessed by most mission interlocutors. According to international observers, the Central Election Commission operated transparently, with regular public sessions, and completed its core tasks despite the complex set of legal, institutional, financial, and administrative challenges that followed the political agreement.

Armenia has implemented GRECO recommendations related to the criminalization of corruption offences. According to the GRECO annual report, by the end of 2016 Armenia has successfully implemented all of GRECO’s recommendations related to criminalization of corruption offences, and on transparency of political funding. However, none of GRECO recommendations related to preventing corruption among members of parliament were implemented by the end of 2016. In addition, 43% of GRECO recommendations related to preventing corruption among judges were not implemented by the end of 2016, and 43% only partially implemented.

European Union is optimistic about Armenia’s eventual success in fighting corruption. The head of the EU Delegation to Armenia, Ambassador Piotr Switalski, has voiced today EU’s support to Armenian government’s declared fight against corruption saying the EU does not lose hope and is optimistic that it will eventually succeed. On June 8, the Armenian parliament unanimously adopted in the second and final reading a set of amendments to the package of anti-corruption laws providing for the establishment of the Commission on Prevention of Corruption. The Commission, expected to start functioning early next year, will carefully examine income and asset declarations of over 2,000 senior state officials and investigate possible conflicts of interest or unethical behavior among them. It will have the right to ask law-enforcement bodies to prosecute officials suspected of engaging in corrupt practices or even making false disclosures. Members of the commission will be nominated by a special council and appointed by the National Assembly. As part of the same legislation the parliament passed another bill that will introduce a “system of whistleblowing” enabling Armenians to report anonymously corruption cases known to them through a special website.

Baku hosts 3rd meeting of heads of anti-corruption organizations and ombudsmen of Economic Cooperation Organization member states. The meeting brought together representatives of prosecutor offices from ECO member states as well as members of the international organisations. The Azerbaijani President’s assistant for work with law enforcement bodies and military issues, Fuad Alasgarov, read out President Ilham Aliyev’s welcome message to the participants. Addressing the event, Azerbaijan`s Prosecutor General, Zakir Garalov, said that fight against corruption is a priority for the country, and stressed the importance of holding this ECO event in Baku.

The Steering Committee of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) extended Azerbaijan’s “inactive” status in the initiative for another year. This decision was taken by the OGP Steering Committee due to unresolved constraints on the operating environment for non-governmental organisations in Azerbaijan. The OGP said that the Steering Committee recognises recent positive steps taken by the Government of Azerbaijan, which include setting up a consultation process to develop the 2016-2018 National Action Plan (NAP), establishing a multi-stakeholder OGP forum, and creating a "one stop shop" for grant registration. The Steering Committee further mandated the Criteria and Standards Subcommittee, in consultation with civil society and government, to develop an updated set of requirements to improve the unresolved issues by 15 September 2017 and the 12-month inactivity extension period will begin once these requirements have been developed.

Council of Europe provides the first regional pilot trainings on Ethics and Performance Evaluations in Public Service. The Trainings took place on 29-30 June 2017 in Guba, Azerbaijan, for 59 representatives of the civil service, academia and civil society sector. The trainings organised in the framework of CoE/EU PGG Project on Strengthening Capacities to Fight and Prevent Corruption in Azerbaijan, and in cooperation with the Commission on Combatting Corruption and the State Examination Centre, were delivered by certified local trainers, who took part in the Training-of-Trainers courses on Ethics and Performance Evaluations in April this year. During the trainings, regional participants were introduced to the basic principles of ethics and performance evaluations in relation to integrity and anti-corruption management in public service.

In his interview with “SB Belarus Segodnya” Prosecutor General of the Republic of Belarus, Aleksandr Konyuk, reported that in the period of 5 months in 2017, in comparison with the same period of the past year, the number of registered corruption offences increased by 29.4% (from 451 to 584 cases). Cases of abuse of official power (by 37.7%) and abuse of authority have increased (by 64%).The number of identified individuals who committed corruption offences has grown by 19.4% (237 and 283). He also noted that criminal cases are now being investigated against high-ranking officials of the Ministries of Commerce, Emergency Situations, Transport and Communications, and a number of large entrepreneurs. Konyuk also underlined that the number of identified corruption crimes in recent years is relatively stable and does not exceed 2% of the total number of registered cases.

Bosnia - Openness to and Restriction on Foreign Investment. Bosnia and Herzegovina struggles to attract foreign investment. Complex labour and pension laws, the lack of a single economic space, and inadequate judicial and regulatory protections deter investment. Generally, Bosnian’s legal framework does not discriminate against foreign investors. However, given the high level of corruption, foreign investors can be at a significant disadvantage in relation to entrenched local companies, especially those with formal or informal backing by various levels of government. Sporadically, high-ranking government officials give media statements inviting foreign investments in the energy, transportation, and agriculture industries; however, the announcements are rarely supported by tangible, commercially-viable investment opportunities.

Bosnia and Herzegovina to remain on the list of countries with strategic deficiencies in their anti-money laundering regimes. That was the decision taken by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on the occasion of its Plenary meeting held in June 2017 in Valencia, Spain. In June 2015, Bosnia and Herzegovina made a high-level political commitment to work with the FATF and MONEYVAL to address its strategic AML/CFT deficiencies. Since February 2017, Bosnia and Herzegovina adopted several laws, including amendments to the criminal codes and amendments to financial sector laws. The FATF will need to review the final versions of these laws to determine the extent to which they address certain deficiencies. Bosnia and Herzegovina will also need to continue progress in implementing adequate and appropriate measures for the non-profit sector and cross-border currency controls.

Bulgaria arrests 23 in crackdown on border corruption. Twenty-three customs officers and businessmen have been arrested in a probe into corruption at a major checkpoint on Bulgaria's border with Greece, prosecutors said on Wednesday. The investigation focuses on alleged kickbacks by Bulgarian transport firms to let trucks pass through the Kulata border point without a check. Police carried out 83 raids on the homes of customs offices and transport firms in Kulata and Sofia, and seized 63 000 leva (€32 000) in cash.

Financial System Stability Assessment Report on Bulgaria. The Report welcomed the authorities’ plans to address weaknesses identified by the Asset Quality Review and stress test exercise completed in 2016. It was noted that while the banking system overall shows resilience, the capital weaknesses in some domestically owned banks remain. Progress was noted in enhancing AML supervision of the banking sector but the IMF encourages the authorities to build on these efforts and implement a risk-based approach to AML supervision in line with the FATF standard.

The Venice Commission released its opinion on the draft revised Constitution of Georgia. The Commission, which has been requested by the Georgian authorities to provide opinion on the draft amendments to the constitution, adopted the document at its session on June 16-17.

Intergovernmental Agreement was signed between State Security Service of Georgia and USA Terrorist Screening Center. The conclusion of the Intergovernmental Agreement for the Exchange of Terrorist Screening Information will foster joint efforts and enhance cooperation between Georgian and USA to prevent and address terrorism. It will create solid legal basis for developing direct, secure and rapid communication system in the field of exchanging terrorist screening information between relevant agencies of the two countries. The Agreement establishes appropriate procedures for access to and exchange of information in order to strengthen the ability of the Parties to protect against acts of terrorism.

Islands of Integrity – Black Sea Countries Join Hands to Fight Corruption. Anticorruption practitioners and representatives of local governments, civil society and international organisations from Georgia, Moldova, Turkey and Ukraine took part in the 2nd Regional Meeting of the Anti-Corruption Professionals Network at the Black Sea on June 26, 2017, in Kutaisi, Georgia. Municipality of Kutaisi is the first local governance entity in Georgia to implement the methodology of “Islands of Integrity” which is a tool for public leaders and managers to identify and change public policies and organisational systems prone to corruption. The goal of the meeting was to strengthen and expand the existing network and exchange experience in applying the methodology in the municipalities of Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine, Turkey and other CEE/SEE countries.

Assets of 850 public officials will be reviewed a second time by the Anti-Corruption Agency. KAA Director, Mr Shaip Havolli, stated that this year, out of 4,998 public officials who were requested to declare their assets, 72 of them failed to do so. Mr Havolli made those comments during the draw for full control of public officials’ property and assets, in which 850 officials have been selected to be subject of a second review.

‘War wing’ coalition wins parliamentary vote. A coalition led by the ruling center-right Democratic Party of Kosovo* (PDK) came first in Kosovo*’s early parliamentary elections held on 11 June. However, in order to be eligible to create the future government, the winning coalition will have to find a coalition partner. The party formerly ruled by President Hashim Thaçi has gathered 32% of the votes, together with its allies. The surprise came from the nationalist left-wing Vetevendosje (self-determination movement) which doubled its votes (27%) since last election after promising to tackle rampant corruption.

Presentation of Methodology for Corruption Risk Management. The methodology developed for Kosovo* in the framework of the EU/CoE Joint Project against Economic Crime (PECK II) was presented to representatives of Anti-Corruption Agency, Police, Tax Administration, Customs, Prosecutorial Council, Central Bank and other relevant institutions. It provides a step-by-step guidance to the process, standards and good practices in developing a corruption risk management methodology and the role of the Kosovo* Anti-Corruption Agency (KAA) in this process.

More Kyrgyz Parliamentarians charged with corruption. Two Kyrgyz politicians, members of the Bir Bol party, part of the ruling coalition, were the target of a criminal case opened by the Prosecutor General’s Office. According to Radio Free Europe, Igor Chudinov and Akylbek Japarov — a former prime minister and former economy and trade minister, respectively — are suspected by the state of “mishandling $2.9 million in state funds allocated for agricultural projects in 2009”.

Discussing protection of whistleblowers with Montenegrin authorities. In the framework of the CoE/EU Horizontal Facility Action against Economic Crime in Montenegro (AEC-MNE), a Council of Europe expert met with representatives of the Montenegrin Agency for the Prevention of Corruption, the Special Prosecution, its Special Police Unit and the Basic Court in Podgorica to discuss legislative mechanisms for the protection of whistleblowers and the current challenges in their implementation. The expert findings will contribute to the development of specific Guidelines for judges, prosecutors, civil servants and police for protection of whistleblowers. The aim of these guidelines is to define concrete procedures to be followed upon reception of request for protection by a whistleblower, and to provide concrete tools for each target group to address this issue.

Workshop on “Development of the Action Plan for the Communication Strategy of the Agency for Prevention of Corruption”. The workshop organised in the framework of the Action against Economic Crime in Montenegro (AEC-MNE) served to agree on the approach to be taken in the drafting of the Action Plan 2017-2018 for Implementation of Communication Strategy (2017-2019) of the Agency for Prevention of Corruption. The workshop was led by two Council of Europe experts, who guided 16 representatives of the APC through the process of objective setting and drafting of activities of the Action plan. The workshop also encompassed a short course on relations with press, strategic planning and crisis communication. Participants have succeeded to identify communication issues both with general public and stakeholders, and to draft concrete measures to address these issues. The Action Plan aims contribute to increased awareness of key stakeholders and citizens of their rights and duties defined by anti-corruption regulatory framework, as well as to increase visibility of the results of the Agency and transparency of its work.

Luksic to be heard in “Primorka” case. The former Prime Minister, Igor Luksic, will be heard by the Special Prosecutor's Office as a witness in the "Primorka” case. Luksic was Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance when he signed the guarantee for the illegal allocation of state aid to “Primorka” when he signed the guarantee for the illegal allocation of state aid to “Primorka”. The name of Igor Luksic is not to be found on the list of suspects in this affair, since he was responsible for signing of the disputed guarantee for allocation of the state aid. The investigation by the Special State Prosecutor's Office, which the media reported, revealed that a criminal group headed by Nebojsa Boskovic and Crtomir Mesaric in the "Primorka" case defrauded the country of more than €20 million.

The actions taken by the government in the fight against corruption are far from satisfying the opposition parliamentary groups. During the discussion of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy in the House of Representatives' Committee on Justice, Legislation and Human Rights, there were calls for stronger commitment from the Executive branch. The delay in the creation of the National Authority for the Fight and Prevention of Corruption was cited as a major shortcoming in the anti-corruption efforts of the Government.

The National Anti-Corruption Commission is established in Morocco. A Government Decree has been adopted in Morocco, establishing the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC). The Commission will be placed under the authority of the Head of Government and will be responsible for monitoring the implementation of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy. This Strategy, which was adopted one year ago, is to be operationalized by 239 projects at a total cost of 1.8 billion dirhams.

Vice-Governor of Kursk region Zubkov sent to pre-trial detention center for two months. The Basmanny Court of Moscow arrested Vice-Governor of the Kursk Region Vasily Zubkov for two months. Thus, the court satisfied the petition of investigative authorities despite the fact that the prosecutor was seeking house arrest as a preventive measure. The Vice-Governor is suspected of taking a bribe in the form of a real estate worth of 1 million rubles ($17.300).

Vladimir Vice-Governor under house arrest. The Moscow Basmanny Court has placed Deputy Governor of the Vladimir Region Elena Mazanko under house arrest. The petition of the prosecution insisting that she should be put in custody was overruled. The Deputy Head of the region is accused of taking bribes worth at least three million rubles ($53.000). According to Svetlana Orlova, the Governor of the Vladimir Region, the three million were associated with the distribution of land in the region. She considers the accusations of corruption to be illegal.

About 380 officials fired over “loss of trust” in Russia in 2016. That was the statement made by Sergey Plokhov, Deputy Head of an Oversight and Anticorruption Department of the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office, at the press conference. Initially, when the measure of “loss of trust” was introduced, employers were reluctant to dismiss people on these grounds, Plokhov said during the discussion relating to the issue of creation of a unified register of officials fired over corruption. The register under the discussion is envisaged to include state officials, prosecutors, investigators, customs and police officers, as well as civil and municipal servants along with employees of the Central Bank, Pension Fund, and some other state agencies. It is proposed to oblige employers to put former employees dismissed over loss of trust in the register through the Russian Labor Code.

Special Public Prosecutor’s Office files charges before expiration date. Legislative amendments will be put in parliament procedure for the extension of the mandate of the Special Public Prosecutor’s Office, since its mandate to file charges was to expire on 30 June. At the end of June, the Special Public Prosecutor’s Office filed 17 charges against 94 individuals and 7 legal entities, and requested detention as preventive measure for committing criminal offences in the area of organised crime and corruption. The Criminal Court did not accept the request for detention and decided only to seize the passports of some of the accused. Amongst them are ex-Prime Minister Mr Nikola Gruevski, ex-vice Prime Minister Mr Pesevski, ex-director of the Administration for Security and Counter Intelligence Mr Saso Mijalkov, as well as former Ministers of Culture, Transport and Internal Affairs.

Once accused of plagiarism, Mihai Tudose, once accused of plagiarism, is Romania’s new Prime Minister Mr Tudose will succeed Sorin Grindeanu, who was forced out as a result of a split in the governing party. The party’s leader, Liviu Dragnea, is widely seen as Romania’s de facto leader, though he is ineligible to be Prime Minister because of a fraud conviction. The appointment of Mr Tudose and his cabinet disappointed some observers, who had in mind a requirement announced by the country’s president, Klaus Iohannis, for the prime minister to be a figure of integrity and competence.

Former Romanian hospital manager to spend 7 years in prison for bribes. Danut Capatina, the former manager of the Constanta County Emergency Clinical Hospital, will spend six years and eight months in prison for money laundering and taking bribes. Anticorruption prosecutors say that, between July 2009 and May 2016, Danut Capatina demanded money from several company representatives in exchange for contracts with the hospital. He received, both directly and indirectly via off-shore companies, a total of EUR 197,858, USD 27,900, and over RON 4.7 million.

President Iohannis: Romania, ready to share corruption combat expertise with Bulgaria. At the end of official talks with visiting Bulgaria's President Rumen Radev, Iohannis said they talked about his recent visit to Washington DC, about shared interest in a strong transatlantic relationship, as well as about challenges in the Black Sea zone.

President of the National Anti-Corruption Authority, Chawki Tabib criticized the limited approach to anti-corruption inquiries by the government. Tabib stated that 90% of the arrested people’s cases are mainly smuggling, but that the latter accounts for only a part of corruption in Tunisia. "In addition to smuggling, there is corruption in public procurement and administrative corruption, in addition to media, businessmen and political parties suspected of corruption. [...] The big heads have not yet been arrested, "he added.

Youssef Chaheh, current head of Tunisia’s government confirms his commitment to the fight against corruption. The Head of Government of Tunisia gave a comprehensive interview detailing the Government’s approach to the fight and prevention of corruption. 

NABU will continue cooperation with the FBI for two more years. According to the Memorandum of Understanding signed on 29 June 2017, NABU and the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, will continue cooperation for the next two years in investigations related to international money laundering, bribery and corruption by Ukrainian high-level officials, as well as international recovery.

EU officials support the establishment of the anticorruption court in Ukraine. Deputy head of EU Delegation to Ukraine Mr Thomas Frellesen and head of the EU Anticorruption initiative Ms Eka Tkeshelashvili voiced their support for the launch of the anticorruption court. Mr Frellesen stressed the importance to preserve the independence of the anticorruption bodies, such as National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU). He added that the launch of the anticorruption court will allow to complete the chain of the anticorruption bodes and see the real results of their work.