Regional Anti-Corruption Initiative (RAI)

The Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) was established in 1999 by the Council of Europe as a monitoring instrument of States' compliance with the organisation’s anti-corruption standards.

Membership in GRECO, which is an enlarged partial agreement, is not limited to Council of Europe member States. Its membership and its evaluation procedures become automatic for any State which becomes Party to the Criminal or Civil Law Conventions on Corruption. Currently, it comprises 46 member countries (45 of 47 Council of Europe member countries, as well as United States of America). The representative of Croatia is currently Vice-President of GRECO, while representatives of Albania and Bulgaria are among Bureau members of GRECO. All South Eastern European countries are members of GRECO. All of them have ratified the Council of Europe Criminal and Civil Law Conventions on Corruption. Only one of them has not yet ratified the Additional Protocol of Criminal Law Convention on Corruption (Bosnia and Herzegovina). 

Accession of SEE countries in GRECO: 

Ratification by SEE countries of Council of Europe anti-corruption instruments: 

During the First Evaluation Round (2000-2002), the evaluation procedure was based on guiding principles 3, 7 and 6 (of the Resolution (97) 24 on twenty Guiding Principles for the fight against corruption). These principles refers to topics related to independence, specialization and means available to national bodies engaged in the prevention and fight against corruption as well as to the extend and scope of immunities. 

First Evaluation Round

For more information, please consult: http://www.coe.int/t/dghl/monitoring/greco/evaluations/round1/reports(round1)_en.asp

During the Second Evaluation Round (2003-2006) was focused on proceeds of corruption, public administration and corruption and legal persons and corruption (guiding principles 4, 19, 9, 10, 5 and 8 as well as relevant provisions of the Criminal Law Convention of Corruption – articles 19.3, 13, 23, 14, 18 and 19.2).

Second Evaluation Round

For more information, please consult: http://www.coe.int/t/dghl/monitoring/greco/evaluations/round2/reports(round2)_en.asp

The Third Evaluation Round that started since beginning of 2007 is focused on two distinct themes:

• Theme I – Incriminations (Criminal Law Convention on Corruption, Additional Protocol and Guiding Principle 2);
• Theme II – Transparency of Party Funding (Recommendation Rec(2003)4 on Common Rules against Corruption in the Funding of Political Parties and Electoral Campaigns and Guiding Principle 15).

SEE member countries are under evaluation process in the frame of this round.

Third Evaluation Round

* Theme I = Incriminations
** Theme II = Political Funding

For more information, please consult: http://www.coe.int/t/dghl/monitoring/greco/evaluations/round3/ReportsRound3_en.asp

See for further information: http://www.coe.int/t/dghl/monitoring/greco/default_en.asp