On the occasion of its 101st Plenary Meeting, the Council of Europe’s Group of States against Corruption (GRECO), in cooperation with the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, hosted a side event in Strasbourg bringing together GRECO national delegates, Congress representatives, officials from local and regional authorities and their associations, as well as civil-society and youth participants. The event marked a forward-looking moment as GRECO moves into its 6th Evaluation Round, with a focus on reinforcing integrity and accountability where public services are closest to citizens.

Programme.

Concept Note.

Watch the video of the event.

Sessions and presentations

Welcome address and introduction

• Mathieu Mori, Secretary General of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities
• Gianluca Esposito, Director General of Human Rights and Rule of Law

Session 1: Building Transparent, Accountable and Resilient Local Democracy

• Andrei Furdui, GRECO Evaluator for the 6th Evaluation Round, former Head of Delegation of Romania to GRECO [presentation]
• Bernd Vöhringer, Vice president of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, President of the Chamber of Local Authorities [presentation]
• Jesper Johnson, Deputy Head of Division, and Carissa Munro, Team Lead, Anti-Corruption and Integrity in Government, Public Governance Directorate, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) [presentation]

Session 2: Driving Local Reform - Synergies between GRECO and the Congress

• Vladimir Prebilič, GRECO Evaluator under the 6th Evaluation Round (Slovenia), former Congress Spokesperson on Ethics and Prevention of Corruption [presentation]
• Christina Binder, member of the Congress Group of Independent Experts [presentation]
• Jimmy Moloney, member of the Kerry County Council, Head of the National Delegation of Ireland, Deputy Thematic Spokesperson of the Congress on Ethics and Prevention of Corruption [presentation]
• Martin Karro, Head of the Tallinn Urban Planning Department [presentation]

Session 3: Partnering for Integrity - Civil Society and Youth in Local Governance

• Michal Piško, Director, Transparency International Slovakia [presentation]
• Jorge Grech, Mayor of Zabbar [presentation]
• Maria Lertxundi Vaquero, Youth Delegate of the Congress [presentation]
• Matias Rubio Morillo, member of the Advisory Council on Youth 

Wrap-up and conclusions

• Livia Stoica Becht, Executive Secretary of GRECO