"Corruption is a terrible scourge that destroys the most precious asset: trust, which is the foundation of any democratic society. At a time when the entire Council of Europe is working to establish a new democratic pact for Europe, our shared role as guarantors of this trust is vital," emphasised Mathieu Mori, Secretary General of the Congress, at the opening of a joint event between the Congress and the Council of Europe's Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) on 20 November 2025 in Strasbourg.
This event is part of the cooperation between GRECO and the Congress on the occasion of the 6th evaluation cycle, dedicated to the prevention of corruption and the promotion of integrity at the sub-national level.
According to the Secretary General, local elected representatives are directly confronted with the consequences of corruption but, despite all the dangers, stand up to money laundering networks, organised crime and intimidation. In this regard, he referred to the example of the Congress Spokesperson for Ethics and Prevention of Corruption, Danela Arsovska, who has been the victim of assaults for her commitment to fighting corruption while inspecting an illegal construction site in her city of Skopje. ‘There is no doubt that these attacks are also intended to have a deterrent effect on other elected officials and an impact on political engagement. Put simply, they aim to set back our democracies. But that is without counting on the resilience of our elected officials and our institutions,’ concluded Mr Mori.
Entitled ‘Strengthening good governance: Consolidating Integrity and Accountability at the Sub-National Level’, the joint event serves as a contribution to the Council of Europe's New Democratic Pact for Europe. Participants examined how anti-corruption mechanisms, ethical frameworks, transparency and democratic accountability can be strengthened at local level, drawing on lessons learned from GRECO's sixth evaluation round.
The Congress delegation to this event included Vice-President Bernd Vöhringer (Germany, EPP/CCE); Danela Arsovska (North Macedonia, EPP/CCE) and Jimmy Moloney (Ireland, ILDG), respectively Congress Spokesperson and Deputy Spokesperson for Ethics and Prevention of Corruption; as well as Jorge Grech, Mayor of Zabbar (Malta) and member of the Congress, Maria Lertxundi Vaquero (Spain), Youth Delegate of the Congress, and Christina Binder (Austria), member of the Congress's Independent Expert Group.
