International newsletter of the HATVP – March – April 2026
IN BRIEF
In March 2026, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) held its annual Global Anti-Corruption and Integrity Forum. The Forum notably marked the launch of the second edition of the OECD Anti-Corruption and Integrity Outlook. Drawing on the OECD’s Public Integrity Indicators, this report reveals that, although countries have made significant progress in the fight against corruption over the past two years, there is still room for improvement, particularly in the implementation of integrity measures.
In April 2026, the Council of the EU officially adopted the directive on combating corruption. These new EU-wide rules establish a harmonised criminal law framework to prevent and combat corruption across the Union.
In March and April, the Council of Europe’s Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) carried on with its sixth evaluation round, launched in March 2025 and aimed at preventing corruption and promoting integrity at the sub-national level, with the completion of the first evaluation reports and visits of evaluated countries.
EUROPEAN UNION (EU)
Council of the European Union
On 21 April 2026, the Council of the EU formally adopted the EU Anti-Corruption Directive, following its final adoption by the European Parliament on 26 March 2026. This new EU legislation establishes, for the first time, harmonised definitions for nine criminal offences and provides for a common level of penalties to sanction such offences. With measures to prevent corruption and rules to strengthen investigation and prosecution, the law will reinforce the fight against corruption both in the public and private sector. Member states will have 24 months from the date of its publication in the Official Journal of the EU to transpose the directive into national law. An exception applies to provisions on risk assessments and national strategies, for which the transposition deadline is set to 36 months. (Council of the EU, 21 April 2026), (European Parliament, 26 March 2026)
European Parliament
During its plenary session on 29 April 2026, the European Parliament adopted a resolution examining the Commission’s 2025 Rule of Law Report. MEPs warn that persistent rule of law gaps weaken democratic safeguards in the EU and that Commission recommendations are not being followed up. MEPs label corruption a serious threat to democracy, the rule of law and equal treatment, warning that weak enforcement of the available legal tools fosters impunity and erodes citizens’ trust. They welcome the new directive on combating corruption. Parliament also asks for full EU membership of GRECO and stronger cooperation between EU bodies dealing with corruption. (European Parliament, 29 mars 2026)
European Ombudswoman
On 22 April 2026, the European Ombudswoman published its annual report for 2025. The report shows that the number of complaints handled by the office rose by 54 percent (from 2264 in 2024 to 3490 in 2025) and that the number of inquiries rose by 19 percent (from 415 in 2024 to 492 in 2025). The steep rise is believed to be in part due to AI tools suggesting the Ombudsman when citizens look for help in relation to the EU administration. 38% of inquiries related to transparency and accountability issues. Next come complaints related to a culture of service (such as failures to reply to a solicitation), and then those related to the proper management of infringement procedures. The Ombudswoman also launched an own-initiative inquiry into how 15 EU agencies manage revolving doors situations, which aimed at identifying good practices and possible shortcomings in the policies and practices put in place. (European Ombudswoman, 22 April 2026).
Following this inquiry, the European Ombudswoman released, on 22 April 2026, a set of to further strengthen and harmonize EU agencies’ overall approach to revolving doors. The Ombudswoman called on agencies without an internal policy to prevent conflicts of interest for board members to adopt one. The Ombudswoman also encourages agencies to train their staff on their ethical obligations, the transparency of their decisions on individual cases, and the measures to be put in place to mitigate conflicts of interest. (European Ombudswoman, 22 April 2026)
INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS
Council of Europe
From 2 to 6 March 2026, a delegation comprising four GRECO evaluators (from Lithuania, Romania, Slovenia and Sweden) and one member of the Secretariat visited Poland for the on-site evaluation of GRECO’s 6th Evaluation Round, aimed at preventing corruption and promoting integrity at the sub-national level. Warsaw, the Capital City, and the municipality of Wołomin volunteered to participate in this evaluation. An evaluation report assessing the situation in the country and the two selected authorities will be drawn up and examined by the GRECO plenary in 2026. (GRECO, 6 March 2026)
From 23 to 27 March 2026, GRECO held its 102nd plenary meeting in Strasbourg. At this meeting, GRECO adopted 6th Round evaluation reports on Estonia and the Slovak Republic. GRECO also adopted follow-up reports on Czechia, Denmark, Türkiye and Ukraine concerning the prevention of corruption in respect of parliamentarians, judges and prosecutors, and on Greece, Hungary, Lithuania, the Republic of Moldova and Türkiye concerning the prevention of corruption and the promotion of integrity in central governments and law enforcement agencies. In addition, GRECO adopted a joint 1st and 2nd Rounds compliance report on Kazakhstan. (GRECO, 27 March 2026)
On 8 April 2026, GRECO published its 5th Round Compliance Report on the Republic of Moldova, setting out an assessment of the progress made by the country in implementing GRECO’s recommendations to prevent corruption and promote integrity in top executive functions and law enforcement agencies. GRECO noted that further progress was necessary to achieve an adequate level of compliance within the next 18 months, notably on the regulation of conflicts of interest and post-employment restrictions as well as rules on contacts with lobbyists for persons with top executive functions. GRECO set the deadline of 30 September 2027 for the submission, by the Republic of Moldova, of a situation report on additional measures taken to implement the 5th Round recommendations. GRECO, 8 April 2026)
On 9 April 2026, GRECO published two new evaluation reports assessing the efforts of Kazakhstan to ensure incriminations for corruption and transparency of party funding. GRECO formulated 17 recommendations for specific actions to be taken by the Kazakh authorities to address the shortcomings identified. (GRECO, 9 April 2026 and GRECO, 9 April 2026)
In a report published on 10 April 2026, GRECO acknowledges Estonia’s progress in preventing corruption and promoting integrity at local level, while recommending further measures on anti-corruption policy, ethics, transparency and accountability. The evaluation process included an on-site visit in April 2025 during which GRECO’s evaluation team engaged with national and local stakeholders in the municipalities of Tallinn and Tartu. The report highlights several good practices worth sharing across member states, such as Tartu and Tallinn’s public procurement arrangements and anti-corruption clauses in contracts, e-training courses on anti-corruption and ethics for elected officials and municipal staff, and Tallinn’s arrangements for access to, and disclosure of, official information. Estonia volunteered to be the first GRECO member state to be evaluated under the 6th round, a process that benefited from the good cooperation of its authorities throughout. Estonia is invited to submit a report on measures taken to implement the recommendations by 30 September 2027. (GRECO, 10 April 2026)
From 13 to 17 April 2026, a delegation comprising four GRECO evaluators (from Greece, Lithuania, Spain, and Switzerland) and one member of the Secretariat visited Latvia to carry out the on-site evaluation within GRECO’s 6th Evaluation Round, aimed at preventing corruption and promoting integrity at the sub-national level. Riga, the Capital City, and the municipality of Cēsis volunteered to participate in this evaluation. An evaluation report assessing the situation in the country and the two selected sub-national authorities will be drawn up and examined by the GRECO plenary in 2026. (GRECO, 17 April 2026)
On 29 April 2026, GRECO published two compliance reports on Czechia under the 4th Evaluation Round, which deals with corruption prevention in respect of members of parliament, judges and prosecutors. The update comprises the 3rd Interim Compliance Report on Czechia (adopted in March 2026) and the Addendum to the 2nd Compliance Report on Czechia (adopted in November 2024). Of the 14 recommendations addressed to Czechia, 8 have been implemented and 6 partly implemented. All 3 recommendations concerning prosecutors are now fully implemented; one recommendation concerning judges remains to be fully addressed. On members of parliament, GRECO welcomes the entry into force of the Act on the Regulation of Lobbying, which introduces more transparency on contacts between MPs and lobbyists and other third parties, further efforts are needed in this area. Most other recommendations concerning MPs remain only incompletely addressed. Czechia will report back to GRECO on progress in 2027. (GRECO, 29 April 2026), (GRECO, 29 April 2026)
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
During its 2026 Global Anti-Corruption and Integrity Forum (GACIF), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) published, on 24 March 2026, the second edition of the OECD Anti-Corruption and Integrity Outlook. This report, based on indicators developed by the OECD to measure public integrity, assesses the strengths and gaps in 37 OECD member and 25 partner countries’ national integrity systems. The report finds that, despite significant progress made by countries over the past two years, further improvements are still needed in the implementation of measures designed to ensure integrity. In particular, it highlights an average gap of 19 points between the strength of integrity regulations and their implementation in OECD countries, compared with 26 points in partner countries. (OECD, 24 March 2026)
NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATIONS
Civil Liberties Union for Europe
On 30 March 2026, the Civil Liberties Union for Europe (Liberties) published the 2026 edition of its annual report on the Rule of Law. This report, which is the most comprehensive independent assessment of civil liberties and the rule of law in the EU, notes that progress on the rule of law has stalled. It concludes that the EU’s mechanisms for halting the decline of the rule of law are largely ineffective: despite four years of recommendations from the European Commission, most Member States have failed to translate these guidelines into concrete action. With regard to the fight against corruption, the report notes that public confidence is undermined by low prosecution of corruption cases, gaps in whistleblower protection, and inadequate enforcement of lobbying rules. In compiling this report, Liberties drew on data provided by more than 40 NGOs in 22 countries. Its findings feed into the European Commission’s rule of law reporting cycle, with partner organisations providing local analyses during annual country visits. (Civil Liberties Union for Europe, 30 March 2026)
EUROPE
Bulgaria
On 19 April 2026, the “Progressive Bulgaria” coalition, led by former Bulgarian President Rumen Radev, won the general election with over 44% of the vote. Bulgarians had been called to the polls following the resignation in mid-December of the coalition government led by Rossen Jeliazkov (GERB, conservatives), whose downfall had been triggered by a wave of protests against corruption. Roumen Radev had centred his campaign on the fight against corruption, making the establishment of a fully functioning Judicial Council a key priority. (Le Monde, 20 April 2026)
Georgia
On 4 March 2026, the Georgian Parliament adopted new restrictions on foreign funding and political activities. These amendments broaden the scope of foreign grants that will now require government approval before being disbursed to entities. They also introduce the possibility of criminal prosecution for “foreign lobbying” as well as for repeated public calls questioning the government’s legitimacy. Individuals who have worked for organisations funded from abroad can be barred from joining a political party for a period of eight year. In a statement on 6 March 2026, the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, and the Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos, jointly expressed regret at these changes, which they believe are moving Georgia further away from the prospect of EU membership. (European Commission, 6 March 2026)
Hungary
On 12 April 2026, Tisza, Péter Magyar’s conservative party, won the Hungarian general election, securing over 53% of the vote against Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz. Having secured a two-thirds majority in the elections, Péter Magyar will be in a position to amend the Constitution, with the stated aim of restoring a more democratic society. The future Hungarian Prime Minister announced on 20 April that he intended to reverse his country’s withdrawal from the International Criminal Court (ICC), which had been ordered by his predecessor, and to execute its international arrest warrants. (Le Monde, 12 April 2026), (Human Rights Watch, 24 April 2026)
Montenegro
On 22 April 2026, the 27 Member States of the European Union approved the establishment of a working group to draft Montenegro’s Accession Treaty to the Union. This strong signal puts the country in pole position to become the 28th member of the European Union as early as 2028. Montenegro’s EU accession negotiations have seen significant progress recently, confirming its status as the most advanced candidate country in the Western Balkans. At a press conference held on the sidelines of her visit to Montenegro on 28 March 2026, Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos emphasised the need to strengthen, the rule of law as part of the efforts required for the country’s accession. (European Western Balkans, 22 April 2026), (European Western Balkans, 26 March 2026