Malta implements majority of recommendations by Council of Europe corruption watchdog

Malta implemented the vast majority of recommendations made Group of States Against Corruption (GRECO), the Council of Europe’s anti-corruption monitoring body, according to the organisation’s 2017 Activity Report.

GRECO currently has 49 members, including 48 European states and the United States.

According to the report, Malta implemented all three recommendations made to it regarding prosecutors were fully implemented in 2017, while, of those relating to the judiciary, one of three was fully implemented, while the remaining two had been partially implemented.

No recommendations made to MPs were fully implemented. Two out of three were partially implemented, with another recommendation having not having been addressed by Malta.

Marin Mrčela, GRECO’s president, and the vice-president of Croatia’s supreme court, writing in the report’s foreword, said the report had once again provided an account of the “state of corruption” in Europe and the United States, and highlighted the main trends drawn from GRECO’s evaluations and recommendations.

Among the key trends, writes Mrčela, was a tendency for member states to rely too heavily on the “repressive aspects of fighting corruption”, while often underestimating preventative mechanisms.

Moreover, according to Mrčela one in five of every GRECO recommendation pointed to the need for greater supervision and enforcement of laws, which are already in place. Mrčela adds that this is a clear sign that the implementation was still a problem, with the level of compliance across member states proceeding at a slower rate than expected.

Also of concern was the fact that in some countries, changes have been made to laws that have reversed previously enacted reforms.

GRECO noted in its Activity Report that allegations or confirmation of corruption had occurred in many countries and institutions, while paying tribute to journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, who was killed at the end of last year.

The report features an article paying tribute to Daphne Caruana Galizia, by her sons Mathew, Andrew and Paul: “Journalists are defenceless while corruption is armed”.

Overall, GRECO found that parliamentarians received a higher overall number of recommendations than prosecutors and the judiciary, with GRECO noting that this was consistent with a credibility deficit among the political class.

They also implemented least with 25.4% implemented compared with 42.5% for judges and 54% for prosecutors.

The main areas of recommendations made to members of parliament concerned supervision and enforcement (23%), prohibition or restriction of activities (18%) and ethical principles and rules of conduct (17%).

Sweden and Finland are the only two countries that have fully complied with GRECO´s recommendations.