“We must never lower our guard in fighting corruption”, said Marin Mrčela, President of the Group of States against Corruption of the Council of Europe (GRECO), ahead of the International Anti-Corruption Day on 9 December.

“Perception of low levels of corruption must not lead to complacency. No country is immune to corruption. All countries, irrespective of their position in perception indexes, are required to take concrete measures to prevent and counter corruption”, he underlined.

“I call on all 49 GRECO member states to re-double their efforts to fully implement our recommendations. This is not only part of their commitment to GRECO’s process, but it is essential to mitigate the negative impact of corruption on our societies. A corruption-free society is a precondition to peace, stability and security”, President Mrčela concluded.

This week GRECO held in Strasbourg its 81st plenary meeting, where it adopted three 5th round evaluation reports focusing on corruption prevention in central governments, including top executive functions, and law enforcement in respect of Estonia, the Netherlands and Poland. It also adopted eight compliance reports (Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Hungary, Italy, Republic of Moldova and Sweden) and its 2019 Programme of Activity. GRECO also discussed preparations for its 20th anniversary in 2019.

• Link to GRECO 81st plenary meeting decisions
• Link to 2019 Programme of Activities
• Link to the video