EU anti-corruption package: the European Network for Public Ethics speaks out
The European Network for Public Ethics, which met on 5 April, calls on the European Commission to include preventive measures in its anti-corruption package.
The European Network for Public Ethics (ENPE), launched in June 2022 at the initiative of the French High Authority for Transparency in Public Life and chaired by the High Authority, brings together 12 authorities from European Union Member States active in the field of public integrity.
It met for the third time on Wednesday 5 April online in order to assess ongoing activities. Members discussed the extension, the visibility and the organisation of its next plenary meeting, which will be held in Slovenia on 4-5 October 2023. This meeting was also the opportunity to discuss the European anti-corruption package. In this respect, the Network calls on the European Commission to include preventive measures in its anti-corruption directive proposal.
The Network wishes to underline that the preventive aspect of the fight against corruption is essential to guarantee its effectiveness and that minimum measures could usefully be considered in the context of this proposed directive.
In this sense, the Network suggests:
- To harmonise the definition of conflict of interest within the Member States;
- To approximate Member States’ laws regarding public officials’ obligations to declare their interests and assets;
- To improve the regulation of revolving doors between public and private sectors
Members of the Network stress the importance of preserving the specificities of each Member State’s model. However, they agree on the need to set common minimum standards to place public integrity at the heart of the European Union’s principles. Strengthening the independence, powers and means of authorities in charge of promoting public integrity is also a major challenge for the credibility of public action and citizens’ trust in institutions.