19th European Partners against Corruption (EPAC/EACN) annual conference

The 19th European Partners against Corruption annual conference took place on 10-12 December 2019 in Stockholm, Sweden. This informal network was created in 2001 and brings together more than 70 anti-corruption authorities and police oversight bodies from Council of Europe member states. More than a hundred participants attended the conference, whose theme was “Understanding corruption mechanisms, global challenges and preventive measures”.

The event started with a presentation of the Swedish anti-corruption authorities in the presence of the minister of the Interior, Mikael Damberg. The presentation was followed by international perspectives, with contributions from Europol, the European Anti-Fraud Office and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. The second day allowed for more operational discussions between participants, especially through the presentation of concrete projects recently conducted at a national level.

As part of this conversation, Marie Lintzer, International Partnerships Manager, presented the missions of the High Authority, with a focus on the mechanisms put in place to prevent conflicts of interests in the public sphere. Her presentation also touched upon the control of revolving doors between public office and private sector and the High Authority’s mission to provide ethical advice.

At the end of the conference, new members including the Dutch Whistleblowers Authority, the Swedish National Anti-Corruption Police Unit and the Romanian General Directorate for Internal Security joined the network. Finally, participants adopted the “Declaration of Stockholm”, which encourages members to keep up their efforts in terms of cooperation and exchange of best practices. The Declaration also underlines the necessity for anti-corruption authorities and police oversight bodies to be independent.

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