37 recommendations that must be taken in account by the Ministry of Justice in the process of elaboration the next National Anticorruption Strategy

10 of March 2021

Bucharest

Press release

37 recommendations that must be taken in account by the Ministry of Justice in the process of elaboration the next National Anticorruption Strategy

Transparency International Romania released Wednesday, 10 of March 2021, an open letter addressed to Minister of Justice, containing 37 specific recommendations regarding the next National Anticorruption Strategy’ elaboration (SNA).

Transparency International Romania supported the elaborating, implementing and monitoring processes of the National Anticorruption Strategy 2016-2020, being part of the cooperation platform of civil society coordinated by the Ministry of Justice. Also, based on the activities carried out, including here the interaction with public institutions and business sector, TI-Romania was able to do an objective analyze of the way in which the provisions of the SNA have been understood and applied in the last five years.

The main findings of TI-Romania regarding the implementation of SNA 2016-2020:

• there has been no uniform approach at the level of public or private institutions regarding the need to implement concrete measures to prevent and combat corruption;
• IT tools are too little used in order to prevent corruption or to early detect the integrity issues;
• Corruption prevention remains weak and it wasn’t enough developed through implementation of SNA.

Remaining consistent to its principles and to its think thank role assumed at national level Transparency International Romania releases a series of 37 specific recommendations that must be taken in account by the Ministry of Justice in the process of elaboration the next National Anticorruption Strategy. These recommendations include:

• standardization of administrative procedures at the level of central and local public administration;
• making the dialogue between the public sector and civil society more transparent, by increasing the importance of the Register of Interests’ Transparency (RUTI);
• implementation of the ANAF digitization program;
• transposition of the European Directive on Protection of Whistleblowers, in dialogue with civil society and the private sector;
• establishment of a National Compliance Register for business sector and citizens, which registers in an easy-to-understand way all the obligations that businesses and citizens have in relation to public institutions;
• setting and implementing a minimum level for anti-corruption measures that each company must implement;
• inclusion of issues related to ethics, integrity, compliance, in school curricula for society and in academic (university) curricula.

All TI-Romania recommendations are available in the Letter addressed to the Minister of Justice, also attached to this e-mail and on the website www.transparency.org.ro.

Transparency International Romania expresses its confidence that the Ministry of Justice will follow these recommendations, as they are meant to ensure increased efficiency in fulfilling the SNA mission. At the same time, we express our readiness to participate in consultations and debates regarding the new Strategy and to help the Ministry of Justice with our expertise in order to develop and implement the measures related to the implementation of the National Anticorruption Strategy.

n its over 20 years of activity, Transparency International Romania has contributed to the establishment / consolidation of public institutions such as ANI, DGA, DNA; has developed over 40 public policies, including one on the protection of whistleblowers. At the same time, it developed and implemented standards of ethics and integrity for the public sector and the business environment. We are consistent with the principles that guide us in our activity: integrity, impartiality, accountability, professionalism.

For additional information, please contact: Georgeta Filip, Transparency International Romania public relations specialist, e-mail: georgeta.filip@transparency.org.ro.