GRECO: Slovakia Implemented Only Five of 21 Anti-corruption Recommendations

Strasbourg, 4 September (TASR) - The Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) calls on the Slovak Republic to take action to implement the outstanding recommendations in preventing corruption and strengthening the integrity of the police force, TASR reported based on a press release published by the Council of Europe on Thursday, saying that Slovakia has fully implemented only five of the 21 recommendations in the 2019 evaluation report. Of the remaining recommendations, four have been partly implemented and twelve remain unimplemented, according to GRECO. Therefore, the Slovak Republic is not in sufficient compliance with the recommendations, and its authorities are requested to provide a report on the progress in implementing the outstanding recommendations by the end of June next year. GRECO was established in 1999 to monitor compliance with the anti-corruption standards of the Council of Europe. Experts from its member states assess the legislation and existing practices, issue recommendations and regularly assess compliance. GRECO acknowledged that Slovakia is preparing the code of ethics for high-level officials, saying it is necessary to establish rules on the engagement of persons with top executive functions with lobbyists and third parties, adopt the draft law on lobbying and disclose such contacts. The system of asset declarations should also be strengthened, hand in hand with broadening the scope of post-employment restrictions. The group also emphasised the need to introduce integrity checks for top-level officials and their advisers, as well as to prevent corruption. GRECO welcomes the measures to ensure the steady increase of women in the police force and the training delivered to a significant number of police officers on the code of ethics and whistleblower protection measures. However, it notes that the rules on post-employment restrictions for police officers have not yet been adopted. Furthermore, GRECO pointed to the lack of an independent complaint mechanism and an internal reporting channel for whistleblowers within the police force. At the end of August, GRECO criticised Slovakia for frequent use of the fast-track legislative procedure and for changes to criminal law, in particular the shortening of limitation periods and reduced criminal penalties for corruption offences. jrg/mcs