The Council of Europe’s Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) has published an evaluation report assessing measures adopted by Luxembourg to prevent corruption and promote integrity at the subnational level of government. The report focuses on the cities of Luxembourg and Dudelange, which volunteered to take part in the evaluation.
GRECO concludes that Luxembourg has a generally satisfactory legal framework for combating corruption, but its implementation could be improved – particularly at municipal level.
Innovative democratic practices and transparent administration flagged as good practices
The report states that the national authorities and the cities of Luxembourg and Dudelange have developed a number of good practices. These include arrangements enabling people to take political leave when taking office at local level, innovative mechanisms of democratic participation, the live broadcasting of municipal council sittings, a web portal on transparent administration and new authorisation procedures for officials undertaking secondary activities.
National anti-corruption strategy and rules of conduct for public officials needed
At the same time, GRECO highlights several areas where further progress is required.
Its recommendations cover, among other things, the lack of a national anti-corruption strategy, the limited work of Luxembourg’s Corruption Prevention Committee (COPRECO) in relation to municipalities, inadequate rules of conduct for elected local representatives and the absence of a code of conduct for municipal officials.
GRECO’s recommendations also highlight the need to further develop training and advice, strengthen the management of conflicts of interest and lobbying and improve the supervision of public procurement and secondary activities. In addition, they also underline the need to step up the oversight of municipal activities and improve access to official documents and the protection of whistleblowers.
Some recommendations are addressed to the national authorities, while others are directed specifically at the authorities of the cities of Luxembourg and Dudelange.
GRECO has invited the Luxembourg authorities to submit a report on measures taken to implement its recommendations by 31 December 2027.
