Anti-corruption policy

Unregulated lobbying opens door to corruption

epa03621518 A Member of the European Parliament raise his hand in a voting during the plenary session in the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, 13 March 2013. The European Parliament rejected the compromise of EU governments for the financial planning of the European Union until 2020. EPA/PATRICK SEEGER

Transparency International said today that Europe urgently needs lobbying reform. A new report from the anti-corruption group found that of 19 European countries assessed, only seven have some form of dedicated lobbying law or regulation, allowing for nearly unfettered influence of business interests on the daily lives of Europeans. The 19 countries together score just 31 per…

Only one in three state companies publishes donations

The national anti-corruption council on Tuesday welcomed progress made in the implementation of anti-corruption measures in state-run companies, but it warned that it was unacceptable that even two thirds of such companies did not make public donations and sponsorships they received. “Sponsorships and donations have been considerably reduced compared to previous periods, they still stand…

GRECO calls on Croatia to raise public confidence in judiciary

epa03693597 Participants compete in the European Individual Chess Championship in Legnica, Poland, 09 May 3012. About 300 participants are competing for the title and 100,000 euro prize money until 17 May. EPA/MACIEJ KULCZYNSKI POLAND OUT

Council of Europe’s Anti-corruption Group calls on Croatia to raise public confidence in judiciary and bolster anti-corruption measures in parliament. In a published report, the Council of Europe anti-Corruption Group (GRECO) gives credit to the efforts made by Croatia to fight corruption in public life. However, despite the many encouraging steps taken, Croatian citizens’ trust…

Croatia should pay more attention to corruption prevention

epa04053508 European home affairs Commissioner, Swedish, Cecilia Malmstrom during a press conference to launch the first Anti-Corruption Report, at the EU Commission headquarters, in Brussels, Belgium, 03 February 2014. The report is an in- depth assessment of all 28 member statesÕ strengths and weaknesses in curbing corruption. The Report aims to give an overview of the fight against corruption across the Union. As well as country-specific analyses and recommendations, it aims to identify best and worst practices and cross-cutting corruption trends in Europe. EPA/JULIEN WARNAND

Croatia has made considerable efforts in recent years to improve its anti-corruption framework, the European Commission said on Monday in a report on combating corruption in the EU member states. “Croatia has made considerable efforts in recent years to improve its anti-corruption framework. However, there appears to be more emphasis on repression of corruption as…

Strategic investment projects law adopted

The Croatian parliament on Friday passed a law on strategic investment projects which is expected to create prerequisites for launching investments and expediting the issue of documents required for public and private projects of strategic interest. The law envisages criteria for defining strategic investments, managing state property, granting concessions, investors’ obligations and their execution, and…

Croatia stagnating in democratic development

Freedom House, the US non-governmental organisation, has given Croatia the same scores as last year in its “Nations in Transit 2013” report on democratic development in 29 Central European and Eurasian countries. Croatia’s average democracy score is 3.61, indicating a stagnation in democratic development. Nonetheless, it remains the best ranked country in the Balkans, followed…