The High Authority participates in the discussions of the OECD Working Party of Senior Public Integrity Officials

On 28 and 29 November, the High Authority was invited by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to participate in the discussions on integrity in the public sector of the Working Party of Senior Public Integrity Officials (SPIO). This group meets twice a year. Its initiatives include notably the update of the 1998 recommendation on integrity in the public sector and the adoption of the recommendation of the Council on public integrity on 26 January 2017.

Currently, the group is developing a “toolbox” to consolidate existing initiatives, instruments and good practices to support the implementation of the recommendation. Following the adoption of the recommendation, the group also set up a task force that is creating an indicator to enable member states and their administrations to self-assess the establishment of new mechanisms regarding integrity in the public sector.

The discussions of 28 and 29 November allowed participants to review the impact of reforms, from a theoretical viewpoint but also from a practical one at the national level thanks to the examples of investigations conducted in Finland and of ongoing reforms in Mexico. Moreover, the discussions provided an opportunity to reflect on the mechanisms implemented to foster a culture of transparency within institutions and in the openness of mechanisms to all stakeholders in society. The work and discussions will be continued in March 2018, in parallel with the Integrity Week and the Integrity Forum organized annually by the OECD.