Debates on reports currently being prepared in the context of the Congress' package of measures to prevent corruption at local and regional level were at the centre of a meeting of the Governance Committee held in Eupen, Belgium, on 4 May 2017. Among the texts adopted on this occasion was the report presented by Amelie TARSHYS Ingre (Sweden, ILDG) on 'Making Public Procurement transparent at local and regional level'. It includes recommendations, in particular, with regard to efficient control mechanisms, training and awareness raising of public officers and overall transparency which was not always easy to achieve, according to the speakers of the meeting. “It’s hard, for the 47 countries of the Council of Europe, to find the exact balance between confidentiality and transparency” stated Amelie TARSHYS Ingre. The members of the Governance Committee also looked into draft reports on “Transparency and open Government”, “Conflicts of interests at local and regional levels” and “Protecting Whistleblowers” and it approved the draft report “A better future for Europe’s rural areas” which will be debated at the next Congress plenary session in October. On Friday, 5 May, the meeting of the Governance Committee was followed by the Conference “Successful territorial reform”, bringing together some 100 politicians, practitioners and academic experts.
News 2017
