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Council of Ministers adopts National Anti-Corruption Strategy and Action Plan
On 11 October 2023, the Austrian National Anti-Corruption Strategy (NAKS) was adopted together with the new National Action Plan (NAP) in the Council of Ministers.
Following the evaluation by the Federal Bureau of Anti-Corruption (BAK) of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy (NAKS), which had first been adopted in 2018, and the National Action Plan (NAP), the results were presented at the meeting of the Co-ordinating Body on Combating Corruption in October 2022.
Subsequently, a strategy team was established under the leadership of the BAK together with the Federal Ministry of Justice (BMJ), the Federal Ministry for Arts, Culture, the Civil Service and Sport (BMKÖS) and the Federal Chancellery in order to incorporate the evaluation results into the NAKS or the NAP.
The focus of the NAKS will remain unchanged. As another result of the evaluation, all ministries will be obliged to nominate a NAKS coordinator. These persons are to be available as central points of contact for all NAKS and NAP agendas. Indicators are defined in the context of setting goals and measures in order to facilitate evaluation and self-monitoring.
In order to increase the effectiveness of the National Action Plan, it is now valid for three years (2023-2025) instead of two. Recommendations made by the Council of Europe Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) were also taken into account when incorporating the evaluation results into the National Action Plan. The first evaluation of NAP measures will take place in June 2025.
Measures concerning the Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI) will be coordinated by the BMI’s Chief Compliance Officer (CCO) and the BAK.
In a further step, the BAK will draw up a NAP together with organisations and authorities that want to take voluntary preventive measures against corruption.
Austrian National Anti-Corruption Strategy (NAKS)
The NAKS had been adopted by the Federal Government in the Council of Ministers on 31 January 2018. The strategy was based on national and international guidelines. In a holistic and cross-sectoral approach, the NAKS forms the medium-term strategic framework for systematic action in the implementation of measures to prevent and combat corruption by the public sector, civil society and business. The dual approach consists on the one hand of the sub-area of prevention (in the sphere of responsibility of the BAK) and on the other hand of the sub-area of repression (in the sphere of responsibility of the Federal Ministry of Justice).
In January 2019, the associated Action Plan of the Federal Government was adopted in the Council of Ministers for the first time for the period 2019-2020. It defined the binding implementation of measures. A second action plan contained measures by other organisations and authorities that voluntarily implemented measures.