International
23rd EPAC/EACN Annual Professional Conference and General Assembly
‘European Partners Against Corruption (EPAC)’ and ‘European contact-point network against corruption (EACN)’ gathered in Bucharest on 26 and 27 November 2024 for their 23rd Annual Professional Conference and General Assembly. BAK was represented on site alongside numerous international representatives.
The 23rd ‘EPAC/EACN Annual Professional Conference and General Assembly’ took place on 26 and 27 November 2024 in Bucharest, Romania, with 170 participants from almost 100 agencies from over 30 countries. The Federal Bureau of Anti-Corruption (BAK) was represented at the event alongside other international institutions.
The conference focussed on the topics of investigating and prosecuting corruption and fraud, preventing corruption, and building integrity in law enforcement. The development of a resilient anti-corruption framework for public sector organisations and the private sector was discussed as well.
Following the specialist presentations, various breakout sessions enabled a more in-depth thematic examination of practical content relevant to preventing and combating corruption. The breakout sessions on the topics of ‘Risk-based approaches to corruption prevention and fraud’ and ‘Corruption situation reports’ were moderated by Ernst Schmid, Head of Department 1 at BAK and EPAC/EACN Vice President of the anti-corruption authorities strand. The panellists included Louise-Marie Petrovic, Head of the BAK's legal department, who placed a special focus on the topic of drawing up situation reports.
New EPAC/EACN working group on corruption situation reports
In one of the breakout sessions, best practices in the compilation of statistics and situation reports on corruption were presented and various approaches were discussed.
BAK initiated the establishment of a working group that is going to deal with the creation of situation reports in the area of anti-corruption. The main aim of the working group is to develop standards for the design of situation reports and to develop effective approaches for strategic corruption analyses. These tasks require a qualified exchange of knowledge as well as the development of best practices, which are intended to serve as guidelines for the creation of this specific type of reports.
Bucharest Declaration
The ‘Bucharest Declaration’ adopted at this year's Annual Professional Conference and General Assembly emphasises the importance of increased cooperation between states in the fight against corruption, further development of integrity in the public sector, and strengthening society's resolve to combat corruption.
EPAC/EACN Award
The initiatives of the Hungarian National Protection Authority (Nemzeti Védelmi Szolgálat, NVSZ) were honoured as the winners of this year's EPAC/EACN Award for the most innovative and successful anti-corruption project. They received the award for their ‘Innovative awareness-raising measures to support integrity development processes in society’.
These measures include an ethics and integrity education programme for teachers to inspire the ‘Alpha’ and ‘Z’ generations to adopt value-based behaviour and a flexible education package for law enforcement students that raises responsibility and awareness in the fight against corruption. In addition, a national awareness campaign was launched targeting all generations and addressing the issue of ‘gratuity payments’ in the healthcare sector with positive, value-based communication.