Back Poland - Publication of the Fourth Round Third Interim Compliance Report including follow-up to the Ad Hoc (Rule 34) Report

Poland - Publication of the Fourth Round Third Interim Compliance Report including follow-up to the Ad Hoc (Rule 34) Report

The Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) of the Council of Europe has published a report evaluating Poland’s compliance with its recommendations to prevent corruption in respect of parliamentarians, judges and prosecutors, and with recommendations related to the 2016-2018 judicial reforms.

GRECO concludes that Poland has fully implemented eight of the total of 22 recommendations issued. It has partially implemented nine recommendations, and five recommendations remain non-implemented. GRECO notes that the overall very low level of compliance with the recommendations remains "globally unsatisfactory.”

That said, GRECO welcomes the authorities’ determined efforts to restore the independence of the National Council of the Judiciary (NCJ). The pending entry into force of the law amending the election of judicial members of the NCJ will ensure that more than half of its members are judges elected by their peers. GRECO further notes that several initiatives to fully implement the outstanding recommendations concerning judges are in the pipeline.

Regarding prosecutors, a commission has been established to assist the National Prosecution Council in overseeing compliance with the ethical principles for prosecutors. Regular and continuous training on ethics and integrity continues to be delivered to prosecutors. The integrity framework needs to be complemented with dedicated counselling and a more in-depth scrutiny of prosecutors’ asset declarations, which are still lacking.

However, the country has achieved no progress in implementing the recommendations concerning parliamentarians since the adoption in 2023 of GRECO’s last follow-up report. GRECO expects that the Sejm’s and Senate’s committees and Presidiums will take tangible action to implement the remaining recommendations.

Those recommendations concern, among other issues, guidance to be provided to MPs on conflicts of interest, acceptance of gifts and advantages, and asset declarations. Others require introducing ethics and conduct standards for senators, developing a precise mechanism for MPs to declare potential conflicts of interests – and of close family members - and improving the monitoring mechanism to assess compliance by MPs with anti-corruption rules.

Given Poland’s serious and resolute efforts to implement the outstanding recommendations, GRECO asks the Polish authorities to provide a report on the progress in implementing the outstanding recommendations by 30 November 2025.

GRECO will address the importance of complying with these recommendations during a high-level mission to the country in 2025.

* unofficial translation, as provided by the Polish authorities

Strasbourg 15/01/2025
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Ever since antiquity, corruption has been one of the most widespread and insidious of social evils. When it involves public officials and elected representatives, it is inimical to the administration of public affairs. Since the end of the 19th century, it has also been seen as a major threat in the private sphere, undermining the trust and confidence which are necessary for the maintenance and development of sustainable economic and social relations. It is estimated that hundreds of billions of Euros are paid in bribes every year. (more)

A word from the President of GRECO

Welcome to this window on GRECO’s world! 
I invite you to use it to look into the work we do with our 48 member States.  We use the dynamics of collective expertise and peer pressure to accomplish action by individual governments that will build durable barriers against corruption and bring to justice those who misuse their position for personal gain to the detriment of society as a whole.

Whether inspired by GRECO’s work, that of others with an anti-corruption agenda or our own experiences and principles, each one of us has a role to play in changing the mind-set to zero tolerance of corruption.

Members of GRECO Bureau

The composition of GRECO's Bureau is the following: Olivier GONIN (Switzerland), Panagiota VATIKALOU (Greece), Vice-President António DELICADO (Portugal), President David MEYER (United Kingdom), Lise CHIPAULT (France), Sorin TĂNASE (Romania) and Alexia KALISPERA (Cyprus).

 BEWARE OF SCAMS

It has been brought to our attention that the name of GRECO is being used for fraudulent purposes. These scams may appear to use letterhead with the GRECO logo, or contain the signatures of actual or fictitious senior GRECO officials, aiming to give the appearance of a legitimate GRECO correspondence.  Sometimes they may include legitimate website addresses to give a veneer of credibility to the scam.

Typically, the solicitations asked potential victims to provide personal information such as signatures or bank account information, and to pay certain advance fees, often described as "processing fees." In return, the potential victim was promised sums of money that the person soliciting the "fees" had no intention of paying. In some cases, those seeking the funds used the names of actual GRECO staff members to sign the letters in order to bolster their credibility.

GRECO, the Council of Europe's anti-corruption body, monitors the way in which its member countries implement the Council of Europe conventions and other instruments at national level. GRECO does not contact members of the public directly by email, telephone, Whatsapp or any other means about specific financial transactions or personal information.

We caution the public to be very wary of these and other similar solicitations that falsely claim to be affiliated with the GRECO. If you have received such a communication, we advise you to immediately terminate that contact.  If you have already paid them money, please contact your local law enforcement without delay.