OSCE-hosted discussion in Vienna calls for stronger co-operation and effective fight against corruption in Western Balkans

VIENNA, 25 October 2016 – Some 60 anti-corruption professionals from the Western Balkan region and experts from international organizations called for stronger co-operation and an effective fight against corruption at a two-day expert meeting entitled “Lessons from South East Europe” that concluded today in Vienna.

Practitioners from anti-corruption agencies, NGOs, financial intelligence units, law enforcement agencies, public prosecutors’ offices, election oversight and public procurement authorities identified the key challenges and existing gaps in the field of anti-corruption.

They discussed trends and exchanged good practices in combating high-level corruption in the areas of political party financing, public officials’ assets and income disclosure, public procurement and money laundering.

“Corruption, especially top-level ‘grand corruption’ can seriously hinder social and economic development by diverting much needed investments from social welfare and infrastructure to the pockets of corrupted individuals,” said Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities Halil Yurdakul Yigitgüden

Head of the Democratization Department at the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) Marcin Walecki, said: “To enhance anti-corruption efforts, our democratic institutions need to improve their collaboration through long-term and comprehensive strategic approaches, as agreed by OSCE participating States in Dublin in 2012.”

Drago Kos, Chairperson of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) Working Group on Anti-bribery, highlighted that “stronger co-ordination between financial institutions and anti-corruption bodies needs to be promoted as a necessary step towards a more effective fight against corruption.”

The Expert meeting was organized as part of the project “Money in Politics in South East Europe”, which is being jointly implemented by the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities (OCEEA) and ODIHR in close partnership with OSCE field operations in the Western Balkan region.