In its many forms, corruption is a major threat to local and regional governance and to democracy in Europe, that public authorities need to address as a matter of urgency.
To tackle this challenge and help local and regional elected representatives better understand the risks of corruption and to implement courses of action, the Congress has adopted a Road map of activities for preventing corruption and promoting public ethics at local and regional levels, and published a Public Ethics series including six thematic reports.
Available in English and Armenian and also in French and Ukrainian, the collection present the analysis and recommendations of the Congress in the following areas: Conflicts of interest, transparency and open government, transparent public procurement, administrative resources and fair elections, combating nepotism and protecting whistle-blowers
In order to reduce the risk of corruption and boost public trust in local and regional policymakers, it is also essential to promote ethical standards common to all territorial elected representatives. In this regard, the revised European Code of Conduct for all Persons Involved in Local and Regional Governance, also available in Armenian takes into account the new challenges facing the actors of territorial governance and thus provides them with instructions on the principles of conduct in their day-to-day performance: accountability, transparency, probity, respect and non-discrimination, merit and impartiality.
In Armenia, the Community of practice on public integrity and ethics in local governance, formed in March 2020, will act as the focal group for strategic localisation of these reports and their implementation by local authorities of Armenia. The Community of practice brings together 23 local and relevant representatives of national authorities, public institutions and civil society – Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Finance, Communities Association of Armenia, Open Government Partnership Armenia, Corruption Prevention Commission, etc.
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The thematic reports were translated into Armenian in the framework of the project “Strengthening the Communities Association of Armenia and Transparent, Participatory Local Governance in Armenia” implemented by the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities as part of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Armenia 2019-2022. The project aims to improve the quality of local democracy in Armenia and enhance citizens’ confidence and trust in local authorities through greater voice, accountability, effectiveness and inclusiveness of the local self-government bodies.
