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The Group of States Against Corruption (GRECO) is a body for monitoring the fight against corruption at the Council of Europe, with headquarters in Strasbourg (France). It was established in 1999 as an extended partial agreement by 17 member states of the Council of Europe. GRECO, a body that is also open to countries outside Europe, currently has 50 members. Since August 2010, all members of the Council of Europe are members of GRECO.
The evaluation mechanism implemented by GRECO helps to identify gaps in national anti-corruption policies, anticipating the necessary legislative, institutional and practical reforms. The GRECO monitoring system consists of two phases: the evaluation procedure, which results in a Report with recommendations for further implementation, and evaluation, which includes the evaluation of the measures taken to implement the given recommendations.
GRECO's goal is to improve the capacity of its members to fight corruption by monitoring their compliance with the anti-corruption standards of the Council of Europe through a dynamic process of mutual evaluation and peer pressure. It helps to identify gaps in national anti-corruption policies, encouraging the necessary legislative, institutional and practical reforms. GRECO also provides a platform for the exchange of best practices in the prevention and detection of corruption.
The evaluation process follows a well-defined procedure, where GRECO appoints a team of experts to evaluate a specific member. The analysis of the situation in each country is carried out on the basis of written responses to the questionnaire and information collected at meetings with public officials and representatives of civil society during the visit to the country. After the on-site visit, a team of experts compiles a report that is submitted to the country under supervision for comments before finally being submitted to GRECO for review and approval. The conclusions of the evaluation report may indicate that legislation and practice are aligned - or not aligned - with the provisions under examination. The conclusions may lead to recommendations that require action within 18 months or to observations that members should take into account but are not formally obliged to report on in the subsequent harmonization process.
One of the advantages of GRECO's monitoring is that the implementation of recommendations is examined in the compliance procedure. The assessment of whether the recommendation has been implemented satisfactorily, partially or not, is based on the report on the situation, with supporting documentation submitted by the member under supervision 18 months after the adoption of the evaluation report. In cases where all recommendations are not followed, GRECO will review the remaining recommendations in the next 18 months. Compliance reports and appendices adopted by GRECO also contain a general conclusion on the implementation of all recommendations, the purpose of which is to decide whether the compliance procedure will be terminated in relation to a specific member.
Finally, GRECO's Rules of Procedure provide for a special procedure, based on a step-by-step approach, for working with members whose response to GRECO's recommendations is globally unsatisfactory.
The Agency performs the role of national coordinator for fulfilling all obligations arising from Montenegro's membership in GRECO. For GRECO membership, Montenegro allocates an annual contribution of EUR 9,364. Funds for this purpose are planned within the Budget of KSA. Montenegro successfully passed the III, IV and V rounds of evaluation.
In the third round of evaluation, our country fulfilled all 38 recommendations addressed to Montenegro in the field of transparency of political party financing and incrimination, including the establishment of the Agency as an independent institution that controls the financing of political entities and election campaigns and the adoption of the Law on the Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns, which were previously assessed as partially implemented.
Regarding the fourth round of evaluation, dedicated to the prevention of corruption in relation to deputies, judges and prosecutors, GRECO sent 11 recommendations to Montenegro, of which Montenegro fulfilled 8, which foresee the necessary legal, institutional and practical reforms in the mentioned area. Of the remaining recommendations, one was partially implemented while the remaining two were not implemented.
As part of the V evaluation round, which refers to the prevention of corruption and the promotion of integrity in relation to the highest levels of executive power and law enforcement agencies, GRECO sent 22 recommendations to Montenegro.
Regarding the last round of evaluation, it was concluded that Montenegro fulfilled three of the total 22 recommendations of that group, of the remaining nineteen recommendations, eleven were partially implemented, while eight were not implemented.
At the 97th plenary session of the Group of Countries of the Council of Europe Against Corruption (GRECO), held from June 17 to 21 this year in Strasbourg, the first Compliance Report for Montenegro within the V evaluation round, on the topic "Prevention of corruption in relation to the highest levels of executive power and the police", was discussed and adopted.
On that occasion, the recommendations given in the Evaluation Report for Montenegro within the V evaluation round, which was adopted on June 17, 2022, were discussed. The Government of Montenegro adopted the GRECO Compliance Report for Montenegro at the session held on August 1, 2024, which created the conditions for the publication of the report. The compliance report is the result of the activities of the Agency, the Government and the Parliament of Montenegro, in order to further improve the institutional and legislative framework, as well as the practice in relation to the highest levels of executive power and the police.
Montenegro is obliged to submit additional information regarding the implementation of the remaining recommendations by December 31, 2025, on the basis of which the second Compliance Report for Montenegro will be prepared within the V evaluation round.
In accordance with the above, the Agency as the national coordinator, in order to implement the GRECO recommendations, prepared a detailed Action Plan that foresees the activities, responsible institutions and ways of implementing the recommendations.
The overall objective of this round is to assess the strength of the framework for fighting corruption and promoting integrity at the sub-state level, identify areas for improvement and promote best practices for strengthening good governance at the regional and local levels. By focusing on preventing corruption and strengthening integrity, the evaluation aims to enable authorities to provide more transparent, accountable and efficient public services, thus ensuring greater trust of citizens in local authorities.
The sixth evaluation round will be launched in 2025.
Prevention of corruption and promotion of integrity at the local level
