This report examines the quality and effectiveness of defence governance across fifteen countries in Central and Eastern Europe: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Serbia and Ukraine. It analyses vulnerabilities to corruption risk and the strength of institutional safeguards against corruption across national defence sectors, drawing on data collected as part of Transparency International Defence & Security’s (TI-DS) Government Defence Integrity Index (GDI).
It is intended to provide governments and policymakers with an analysis of defence governance standards in the region and supply civil society with an evidence base that will facilitate their engagement with defence establishments and support advocacy for reforms that will enhance the transparency, effectiveness and accountability of these institutions.
This report details good practice guidelines and policy implications that are designed to reduce the opportunities for corruption and improve the quality of defence governance in Central and Eastern Europe. It identifies five key issues of defence governance where improvements are urgently needed in order to mitigate corruption risks: parliamentary oversight, defence procurement, transparency and access to information, whistleblowing, and military operations.
The 2016 Anti-Corruption Summit was undoubtedly a landmark in global recognition that tackling corruption matters. It was a unique opportunity to develop plans of action to effectively address this issue, acknowledging that the real victims of corruption are the world’s citizens. It created a platform for 43 governments to sign up to ambitious targets.
The Summit covered a wide array of topics, which presented opportunities both for success and failure. However, after an initial analysis by Transparency International UK, more than half of the 648 commitments – 56 per cent – were identified as “concrete” promises. A third – 33 per cent – were “new”, that is, generated by the Summit. And about a third – 30 per cent – were “ambitious”.
Fora of this sort tend to lose relevance once another event takes hold of the international agenda. For this reason, Transparency International’s global movement embarked on a journey of tracking the progress of anti-corruption promises made at the Summit through Transparency International UK’s Promise to Practice Project.
Four years on since the 2016 Anti-Corruption Summit, this report takes stock of the progress achieved through this initiative.
COVID-19 has been unprecedented, throwing the world into disarray and having a profound toll on millions through the direct loss of life, rising unemployment and increased instability. Nonetheless, lurking beneath the headlines this pandemic has fertilised opportunities for corruption, whether it be in public procurement, the abuse of human life or the exploiting of opportunities that have directly arisen from the pandemic for personal gain.
On International Anti-Corruption Day (9th December), Transparency International UK will be hosting a panel event that will bring a broad global perspective on the impact this pandemic has had on health, stability and accountability in different contexts and the corruption challenges that have manifest.
Date: International Anti-Corruption Day - Wednesday 9 December 2020
Time: 18:00 - 19:00 GMT
Chair: Dominic Martin (Former British Ambassador to the OECD, VP Government & Regulatory Affairs - Equinor)
Panellists:
- Major General Gary Deakin (Deputy Chief of Staff – Plans, NATO Joint Forces Command, Naples)
- Sheila Masinde (Executive Director of Transparency International Kenya)
- Professor Heather Marquette (Senior Research Fellow - Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office)
Please join us on Wednesday 9th December for what will be a highly engaging evening.
Following registration, you will receive a link closer to the time of the panel which you use to join the event on the evening.
COVID-19 has created a challenging environment for all and without our donors, the work that Transparency International UK does in the fight against corruption would not be possible. Now - more than ever - we need your support and therefore a suggested donation of £5 is requested for attending this event (although any amount below or above this will be accepted). Thank you for your understanding.
The Annual Lecture - which usually happens on this day - has been postponed to March 2021.