In a follow-up report published today, the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) of the Council of Europe calls on Croatia to step up its efforts to fully implement the recommendations issued to the country to promote integrity and prevent corruption among top executive functions of the central government and the police.
GRECO concludes that Croatia has fully implemented 11 of the 17 recommendations contained in the Fifth Round Evaluation Report, adopted in 2019, and partially implemented six recommendations.
The report acknowledges some progress in the training activities conducted by the Council for the Implementation of the Code of Conduct for State Officials in the Executive Bodies. It also welcomes the entry into force of the Lobbying Act, which, together with the new Code of Conduct for State Officials in the Executive Bodies, introduces certain rules on how persons with top executive functions should engage with lobbyists and third parties seeking to influence government activities.
However, GRECO underlines that the authorities should take more determined action to implement the outstanding recommendations, particularly relating to the need to:
• carry out the integrity vetting of special advisers
• publicly disclose sufficient information about meetings that individuals with top executive functions have with lobbyists and third parties
• broaden the scope of post-employment restrictions applicable to individuals with top executive functions
• clarify the proportionality of sanctions for violations under the Prevention of Conflicts of Interest Act
• ensure that the recently adopted Code of Conduct is accompanied by appropriate guidance and enforcement, and that counselling mechanisms are devoid of a chilling effect.
Regarding the police, the report welcomes that there has been significant progress in most outstanding issues. The authorities have conducted a comprehensive risk assessment of police corruption-prone areas and activities. GRECO welcomes the adoption of a plan to strengthen police integrity and prevent and combat police corruption, as well as the publication of a manual of ethical behaviour for police officers.
In addition, the initial and in-service integrity training has been developed to become more practice-oriented and tailored to identified corruption risks. Other positive developments include the completion of the study on police officers' post-employment activities and the requirement that police officers, like other civil servants, report integrity-related misconduct.
Overall, GRECO concludes that Croatia is not in sufficient compliance with the recommendations of the Fifth Round Evaluation Report and asks the authorities to provide a report on progress in implementing the outstanding recommendations by 30 November 2026.
In accordance with its rules, GRECO invited the Council of Europe Secretary General to send a letter to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Croatia drawing attention to the non-compliance with the relevant recommendations and the need for determined action to achieve further progress.
