GRECO President Kos to EuroFora : Corruption is a common threat for all Europe, the US and beyond

Transparency on Political Funding and Criminalisation of Corruption, while extending investigation also to Local/Regional level, are the next steps by CoE's anti-Corruption body GRECO, (to which participate even USA), anxious to prevent a duplication by the EU which risks to split Europe in 2 different parts, as his experienced President, Dragos Kos (2002-2009) said to "EuroForra".

Corruption affects both "People's trust to Democracy", provokes Discriminations affecting Human Rights, and can even deprive States from 30% to 50% of their normal revenue, (losing up to 3,8 Billion $ each year in Turkey's case), stressed key participants at an exceptional Summit of CoE's Justice Ministers to take stock of GRECO's 1st Decade (1989-2009), where the way Germany dealt with Siemens' case, dating from 2000-2004 with ramifications to other Countries as Greece and elsewhere, served as one key example.

- "Corruption is a mortal threat to democracy, .. and may destroy People's confdence in political institutions and public administration", stressed from the outset CoE's deputy Secretary General, Mrs Maud de Boehr-Buquicchio, reminding "a series of politically-related corruption scandals in a a number of Western States".

- There are "frequent complaints", and a "serious problem in several European countries", particularly about "corruption in the Judiciary", which "favours people with money and contacts", gravely discriminating against and affecting Poor People's Rights, denounced the PanEuropean Commissioner for Human Rights, Thomas Hammarberg.

- "Corruption... destroys political equality,.. imposing an Oligarchy, ..erases the distinction between Private and Public Interest, and keeps representatives far away, instead of expressing citizens' needs, added French Justice Minister Jean Marie Bocquel, describing the French system of State Funding for Political Parties which accept transparency.

Starting in 1999 with less than 20 pioneer CoE Member States, GRECO succeeded in a Decade to gather today 47 CoE Member States, and to add also the USA.

But, after EU Commission's June 2009 plans on "Justice and Home affairs", known as "Stockholm program",  CoE faces now a risk of competition by new EU bodies, with which it prefers to closely cooperate.

Since EU debates and decisions are expected soon in EU Parliament and EU Council on December 2009, CoE must establish a kind of "Structural Cooperation" with the EU, which could, even if informal, regularly tackle joint planification and action issues in the common task to fight corruption, said to "EuroFora" CoE's Director on Monitoring, Christos Yakumopoulos.

                                                                                                                                                                                                    -"In EU Commission's communication to EU Council, there are some sentences which could mean that there is some duplication of efforts. There is some wording implying that a new anti-corruption mechanism could be established within the EU'; confirmed to "EuroFora" GRECO's President, Goran Kos from Slovenia, denouncing risks to provoke "gaps" between EU members and other european countries.

- "I don't think that we need something like that. Because it will lead to duplication of efforts, dilution and waste of resources, and I don't think that all member states would support such an idea". - "We have to increase cooperation with the EU, because it doesn't really make sense now : We (CoE) are planning our way forward, they (EU) are planning their way forward, and there is no real coordination".  

- "Really it could be tricky if EU and CoE didn't join efforts. Otherwise, Europe could face very dangerous phenomena, : This could lead to a full split of Europe in 2 differend  parts. If we are talking about a unified Europe, this is a separation which is not normal " - "Moreover, if we talk about Corruption, it's dangerous for all countries in Europe. It doesn' make any difference if these countries are EU members or not. We all face the same threat", GRECO's President said, agreeing with "EuroFora" that, "of course", "corruption networks can go beyond EU Member countries"..-

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    Corruption may cost up to 30% or 50% of a State's revenue : F.ex.  in Turkey Corruption usurpates more than 3,8 Billion $ each year, (i.e. almost .. 4 times the amount of EU's annual aid !), and in Croatia some 0,25 Billion $ per year (i.e.  55 $ per inhabitant), denounced the President of CoE's PanEuropean anti-Corruption watchdog.

    In other countries, as fex. Greece or Cyprus, even if almost every Legal mecanism useful against Corruption already exists, nevertheless, ..practical "results could be better", GRECO's experienced President (2002-2008) criticized, in reply to an "EuroFora"s question. For all Europe, a key issue is now "implementation" of CoE's anti-corruption standards, Kos concluded later at his official speech.
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    Kos, replying to another journalist's question, agreed that Germany dealt efficiently with the Siemens case, - "We (GRECO) learned a lot" with the way that Germany investigated that case, and "Siemens seriously changed" after that.  "But, on the other hand, in Germany they didn't yet introduce a full criminal responsibility", he observed. And this was stressed also by the CoE Chairman-in-office, Slovenian Minister of Justice, Ales Zala. who added to the out-going, Socialist German Minister Mrs Zyries' description of the Siemens' case, that those responsible for corruption must know that they will face consequences "not only on their careers, but also on their freedom".

    The lack of full Criminalization of Corruption provokes sometimes serious problems : In Germany, f.ex., despite a succesful fight against corruption in "Siemens"' case, investigation was concluded as far as the enterprise is concerned, "since December 2008", and with participation of experts from the USA, since said to "EuroFora" Munich's Head Prosecutor Manfred Nötzel.

    . But the part of the case which concerns Greece (illegal funding of Political parties) notoriously risks to be blocked, because a suspect which is also a key witness, arrested in Germany, opposed extradition to Greece, as well as investigation in Germany itself, claiming that a minor sanction existing there had been Time-barred  !..

    As for transparency on Politicians' funding is concerned, in theory, this might go as far as to check even ..new US President Barack Obama's notoriously record-braking 2008 campain budget, which succeeded to raise many hundreds millions of euros, more than any other candidate in USA's History

- "Yes, of course", USA is among the countries which will be checked by GRECO's team, for the 1st time, also about politicians' funding, GRECO's President confirmed to "EuroFora".

     - "At the beginning, when we spoke about that, there were strong reactions. But afterwards, we have been (positively) surprised by political parties' trasparency on funding", said to "EuroFora" Kos.

    However, "it's from December 2009 that we shall start to discuss the first Reports". And "we know that some countries have serious difficulties about that. We (GRECO) are eager to see what wil be the 1st reactions and results"

    But, "the time has come" for Corrution risks to start to be checked also "at a Local and Regional level", (particularly in Countries with large Decentralisation). Until now we (CoE) didn't know what was going on a the Local level, despite the fact thet "it often faces significant Corruption risks in daily operations", GRECO's President concluded, speaking timely at the eve of the PanEuropean Congress of Local and Regional Authorities' 2009 session next week in Strasbourg.