The Project on “Strengthening institutional capacities to fight and prevent corruption in Armenia” continues to support the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia in developing a Code of Conduct for Members of Parliament. This assistance addresses both national priorities in the Republic of Armenia and an important recommendation by GRECO in its Fourth Round Evaluation (GrecoRC4(2019)21) that a Code of Conduct for members of parliament be adopted and made easily accessible to the public, which provides clear guidance on conflicts of interest and related areas.
On 6 and 7 February 2021, following-up on previously provided recommendations on drafting a Code of Conduct for the deputies, the project organised a workshop with the participation of the Deputy Speaker and 62 Members of the National Assembly. The aim of the workshop was to discuss the draft amendments related to the formation and work procedures of the Ethics Commission and the proposed Code of Conduct for the deputies, in light of international expertise and good practices, with a view to reaching a consensus towards their adoption.
Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Lena Nazaryan, Executive Secretary of GRECO and Head of the Council of Europe’s Action against Crime Department Hanne Juncher, and Acting Head of the Yerevan Council of Europe Office Maxime Longangue, opened the event highlighting the particular importance of the topic. The event allowed the Members of Parliament to gather together in person for the discussion while international Council of Europe experts and representatives of the Council of Europe Secretariat participated online. Lively exchanges took place over the two days, reflecting on both the substantive contents and the form that these proposed reforms should take, taking into account international standards and practices as well as the Armenian context. It was highlighted that the adoption of such reforms will contribute to the formation of a new environment for parliamentary ethics and a new political culture, to increase and maintain public confidence in the National Assembly.
The Council of Europe will continue to provide support to the National Assembly in its endeavour to form a temporary Ethics Commission and to finalise and adopt the draft Code of Conduct.
This activity was organised within the framework of the EU/CoE Partnership for Good Governance II Project on “Strengthening institutional capacities to fight and prevent corruption in Armenia” (PGGII-ARM) which is funded jointly by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe.