International newsletter of the HATVP – March-April 2024
The month of March was marked by the 12th session of the Global Anti-Corruption and Integrity Forum organised by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) on 26-27 March 2024 and by the publication of the “OECD Anti-Corruption and Integrity Outlook 2024”.
In April, the OECD also published a report commissioned by the HATVP and entitled « Strengthening the Transparency and Integrity of Foreign Influence Activities in France ». The Council of Europe, for its part, issued several compliance reports from the 5th Evaluation Round related to the prevention of corruption and the promotion of integrity within the executive and law enforcement agencies.
Finally, Members of the European Parliament adopted the agreement on the European Ethics Body strengthening the respect for ethical rules in eight institutions and bodies of the European Union.
EUROPEAN UNION (EU)
On 2 April 2024, the European Union Transparency Register adopted a new design to improve the appearance and user experience of its website and offer a new secure interface. The platform allows the user to search more easily for lobbyists aiming to influence policy and legislation within European institutions. (European Commission, 2 April 2024)
On 17 April 2024, the European Court of Auditors published a report revealing the transparency blind spots in the European Union. The obligation for lobbyists to register to access European institutions is limited, in practice, to activities (meetings, hearings, conferences) organised in advance and involving high-ranking personnel – European Commissioners, Directors General. This therefore excludes all informal exchanges and those involving lower-ranking staff. The report highlights the few coercive measures available to the register secretariat to ensure that lobbyists respect the rules. The framework of the Transparency Register being an interinstitutional agreement and not a legislative act, it cannot be accompanied by sanctions in the event of non-compliance with the rules it lays down. However, the Court notes recent improvements and highlights the increase in the number of registered lobbyists (12,500 in 2024 compared to 5,500 in 2012). (European Court of Auditors, 17 April 2024)
On 10 April 2024, Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) debated possible Russian interference in the European Parliament, information revealed by the Czech and Belgian intelligence services. The elected officials asked for more details on the allegations of corruption and warned of the danger that would ensue for the European elections. (Médiapart, 11 April 2024)
On 25 April 2024, MEPs reached an agreement on the new European Ethics Body, by 301 votes for, 216 against and 23 abstentions. The agreement was concluded between the Parliament, the Council, the Commission, the Court of Justice, the European Central Bank, the European Court of Auditors, the European Economic and Social Committee and the European Committee of the Regions. This new Body will develop, update, and interpret common minimum standards for ethical conduct, and publish reports on how these standards have been reflected in each signatory’s internal rules. These new ethical rules will govern the acceptance of gifts, invitations and trips offered by third parties, will impose conditionality and transparency measures for meetings with lobbyists, and will put in place declarations of interests and of assets. The institutions participating in the Body will be represented by one senior member and the position of Chair of the Body will rotate every year between the institutions. Five independent experts will support its work and be available for consultation by the participating institutions and bodies about standardised written declarations, including declarations of interest. The deputies regretted that the Body does not have its own powers of investigation or sanction and that the Council, which nevertheless participates in the Body, decided not to apply the rules for itself. (European Parliament, 25 April 2024)
INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS
On 21 March 2024, GRECO (Group of States against Corruption) published its second Compliance Report of the 5th Evaluation Round for Malta on the prevention of corruption and the promotion of integrity within central government (senior executive functions) and law enforcement authorities. Ten recommendations are partially implemented and nine are not. GRECO regrets that there has been no progress on the development of an integrity strategy for people occupying high executive functions. GRECO welcomes the strengthening of the capacity of the competent bodies responsible for integrity monitoring but regrets that the introduction of the ad hoc declaration of conflicts of interest, as well as the establishment of clear rules applicable to parallel activities carried out by people occupying high executive functions, are at a standstill. (Council of Europe, 21 March 2024)
On 10 April 2024, GRECO published the second Compliance Report of France’s 5th Evaluation Round. Of the 18 measures recommended in January 2022, it notes that only two have been implemented. Concerning senior executive officials, GRECO welcomes some positive developments such as the reinforced cooperation between the French Anti-Corruption Agency (AFA) and the High Authority for Transparency in Public Life (HATVP). However, it recommends that the prior control carried out by the HATVP on the appointment of members of ministerial cabinets and collaborators of the President of the Republic be extended to all advisors; to make exchanges between senor executive officials and lobbyists public and at regular intervals; and that the declarations of assets and interests of the elected candidate for the President of the Republic be subject to control by the HATVP. (Council of Europe, 10 April 2024)
On 17 April 2024, GRECO made public its second Compliance Report of the 5th Evaluation Round for Slovakia. It considers that of the 21 recommendations, four have been partially implemented and 14 have not been implemented at all. GRECO regrets that there has been no progress regarding the top senior executive functions, but welcomes the ongoing public consultations which could lead to the approval of a Code of Ethics and the creation of a Commission of Ethics. (Council of Europe, 17 April 2024)
On 18 April 2024, GRECO published its 5th Evaluation Report for Armenia. GRECO recommends 22 recommendations so that Armenia continues its efforts to prevent corruption with regard to senior executive officials and within the police. It notes the positive measures taken following the Velvet Revolution of 2018 such as the establishment of a specialised institutional framework to combat corruption. GRECO regrets that no convictions have yet been handed down following ongoing investigations into high-level corruption and kleptocratic networks linked to previous regimes. GRECO recommends that effective rules on lobbying be adopted. (Council of Europe, 18 April 2024)
On 26 and 27 March 2024, the OECD organised the 12th session of the Global Anti-Corruption and Integrity Forum entitled “Thinking our future with integrity”. This Forum, organised every year, brings together hundreds of anti-corruption representatives and experts from around the world. This year, the Forum was marked by the launch of the first edition of the « OECD Anti-Corruption and Integrity Outlook 2024 », which analyses the efforts made member countries to uphold integrity and fight corruption. Based on data from the Public Integrity Indicators, it analyses the performance of countries’ integrity frameworks, and explores how some of the main challenges to governments today (including the green transition, artificial intelligence, and foreign interference) are increasing corruption and integrity risks for countries. (OECD, 26 March 2024)
On 22 April 2024, the OECD published the report “Strengthening the Transparency and Integrity of Foreign Influence Activities in France”, which identifies concrete courses of action adapted to the French context to make foreign influence activities more transparent, discourage attempts at foreign interference through opaque lobbying and influence activities. It also ensures that the risk of foreign interference is better taken into account when public officials move between the public and private sectors. The OECD particularly identifies the need to strengthen the transparency of foreign influence actions through an ad hoc system – a register administered by the HATVP, distinct from the current register of lobbyists. (OECD, 22 April 2024)
NETWORKS
On 25 April 2024, the French-speaking Parliamentary Ethics and Professional Conduct Network (the Network or RFEDP) published a guide listing good practices in parliamentary ethics and deontology. The guide is intended to be a reference tool for Parliaments to support institutions wishing to adopt a code of parliamentary ethics or professional conduct or update their existing practices. The document presents a review of the institutional and normative frameworks governing ethics and professional conduct of the Network’s member institutions, in addition to addressing basic notions relating to ethics, professional conduct and conflicts of interest. The RFEDP has 16 members and aims to raise awareness of the standards of ethics and professional conduct in French-speaking Parliaments. (RFEDP, 25 April, 2024)
GEOGRAPHICAL AREAS
PANAMA
On 8 April 2024, the Panama Papers trial opened to judge 27 people involved in this tax evasion and money laundering scandal revealed in 2016 by several international media. The investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) revealed that figures around the world had engaged in tax evasion and money laundering through the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca. Heads of State and government, leading politicians and figures from finance, sports and the artistic world had hidden properties, businesses, capital and profits from the tax authorities. The scandal led to the closure of the Mossack Fonseca firm and Panama’s image was seriously affected. The country is therefore on the blacklist of tax havens established by the European Union. (Le Monde, 8 April 2024)
On 4 April 2024, the former Speaker of the South African Parliament was arrested and indicted for corruption and money laundering less than two months before decisive general elections for her party, the ANC (African National Congress). Mapisa-Nqakula, appointed head of Parliament in 2021, resigned before being arrested. She is accused of having received large sums of money from a military contractor when she was Minister of Defense (2014-2021). South Africans are called to the polls on 29 May 2024 to renew their Parliament, which will appoint the next president. According to opinion polls, the historic party risks losing its absolute majority for the first time (Le Figaro, 4 April 2024)
On 15 February 2024, a few weeks before the start of the general elections, the Indian Supreme Court uncovered a system of hidden party financing, of which the Prime Minister’s party was the main beneficiary. This opaque system made dirty money disappear from electoral campaigns by routing donations through banks, while hiding the identity of the donors. For the magistrates, this system « violated the right to information » of India’s billion voters. (L’Express, 26 March 2024)
VIETNAM
On 21 March 2024, the Parliament of Vietnam approved the surprise resignation of President of the Republic Vo Van Thuong, after a single term. According to the Vietnamese News Agency, the President declared himself guilty of “violations and shortcomings”. His resignation comes as Vietnam experiences major political upheaval, with his predecessor also ousted amid an anti-corruption drive that saw several ministers sacked and top business leaders put on trial for fraud and corruption. (Le Monde, 20 March 2024)
On 11 April 2024, Truong My Lan, a real estate businesswoman, was sentenced to death for embezzlement by a court in Ho Chi Minh City. Truong My Lan, who appealed her verdict, is accused of having financed these operations by drawing from the funds of Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB), a private bank that she secretly controlled and which granted loans to shell companies in defiance of laws and management rules. The embezzlement amounts to the equivalent of 11.6 billion euros, or nearly 3% of the country’s GDP. This condemnation takes place in the context of a vast anti-corruption campaign called “Burning Furnace” led by the Communist Party. 80 defendants were also tried for a range of economic crimes. (Le Monde, 12 April 2024)
The Supreme Rada, the Ukrainian Parliament, has adopted a new law on lobbying, recommended by the European Commission before the start of EU accession negotiations. According to Denys Maslov, Chairman of the Legal Policy Committee, « the aim is to reduce corruption and the hidden influence of oligarchs on the running of the state » and « to introduce transparent and open rules governing influence on Ukrainian state policy ». The law is due to come into force on 1 January 2025 at the latest. (Bloomberg, 23 February 2024)