Herwig van Staa, Congress spokesperson on promoting public ethics and preventing corruption at the local and regional levels, addressed the Committee of ethics of the Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities (KS), in Oslo, Norway, on 14 September 2017. “Corruption poses a major threat to the legitimacy of our democratic institutions and must be dealt with in all member states of the Council of Europe,” he stated, highlighting that the problem is acute at all levels of government, including local and regional levels. “In all its forms, the fight against corruption needs to remain a long-term priority for local and regional governments and their associations”, he added. Herwig van Staa presented the Congress Roadmap of activities for preventing corruption and promoting public ethics at local and regional level, based on three objectives: a better understanding of the risks of corruption through the preparation of thematic reports, the revision and extension of the scope of the European Code of Conduct and the implementation of cooperation activities. Although confident that the Roadmap and its implementation will enable the Congress to take its anti-corruption work to a new level, Herwig van Staa stressed that local and regional authorities as well as their associations have an important role to play and should develop their own anti-corruption action plans.

Speech
Congress roadmap
Congress texts
Booklet on Congress thematic activities (pdf)
REGIONEWS Website