GRECO: Serbia implements 10 of 15 recommendations
Source: Tanjug
STRASBOURG -- Council of Europe's Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) on Wednesday published a report on incriminations and transparency of party funding in Serbia.
The document for the most part praised Serbia's efforts despite a lag in implementing reforms to anti-corruption legislation.
"Serbia has implemented satisfactorily ten of the fifteen recommendations" contained in GRECO's evaluation from 2010, reads the new compliance report.
All ten recommendations concerning transparency of political funding have been implemented satisfactorily, but none of the five recommendations concerning criminalization of corruption offenses.
Addressing the latter, the report says that amendments to the Criminal Code were drafted by the previous government, but the draft was withdrawn following the May 2012 elections. A new working group has been created to deal with the recommendations issued in this area, so GRECO is hopeful the deficiencies will be addressed.
On the other hand, Serbia deserves recognition for the holistic review carried out in the area of party funding, resulting in a detailed and comprehensive legal framework.
"Implementation of the relevant legislative provisions is now being tested and the Anti-Corruption Agency has a key role to perform in this regard. Time and experience will show whether the law efficiently serves its purpose and prevents corruption and malpractice in party financing, and whether further improvements, of either a legislative or a practical implementation nature, are necessary," reads the report.
"GRECO encourages Serbia to pursue the reforms underway in order to implement the pending recommendations within the next 18 months," says the report, inviting the Serbian authorities to submit additional information regarding the implementation of recommendations by April 30, 2014 at the latest.
GRECO was established in 1999 by the Council of Europe to monitor states’ compliance with the organizations' anti-corruption standards.
Currently, GRECO comprises 48 European countries, and the United States.
sreda 6.03.2013 | 20:57 | Source: Tanjug | Comments: (0) | Send comment
LONDON -- First Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Aleksandar Vučić conferred with British Foreign Minister William Hague in London on Wednesday.
sreda 6.03.2013 | 19:34 | Source: Tanjug | Comments: (14) | Send comment
PRIZREN -- Aleksandar Vulin stated on Wednesday that Serbia was "not asking for an entity such as the Serb Republic (RS)" to be formed in Kosovo.
sreda 6.03.2013 | 16:24 | Source: B92, Beta | Comments: (17) | Send comment
BELGRADE -- Serbian parliament's Committee on Kosovo Chairman Milovan Drecun says Priština is not committed to finding a sustainable solution in talks with Belgrade.
sreda 6.03.2013 | 16:21 | Source: B92, Tanjug | Comments: (17) | Send comment
BELGRADE -- Serbian President Tomislav Nikolić offered his condolences on Wednesday to the family of President Hugo Chavez, the leadership and people of Venezuela.
sreda 6.03.2013 | 15:43 | Source: NIN, Tanjug | Comments: (8) | Send comment
BELGRADE -- Prime Minister Ivica Dačić believes that late PM Zoran Đinđić would not be opposed to current political actions of his political opponents.
sreda 6.03.2013 | 14:18 | Source: Beta, Tanjug | Comments: (1) | Send comment
BELGRADE -- Accounts of the Democratic Party (DS) have been blocked since the Finance Ministry has not approved funds for election campaign costs, a DS official has said.
sreda 6.03.2013 | 13:39 | Source: Beta | Comments: (22) | Send comment
PRIŠTINA -- Skender Hyseni, who served as foreign minister in the Priština government, has "expressed his fear" that some recognitions of Kosovo came through bribery.
sreda 6.03.2013 | 12:48 | Source: Tanjug | Comments: (0) | Send comment
BRUSSELS -- European Parliament (EP) Rapporteur Tanja Fajon has said that negotiations about a mechanism for the suspension of the visa-free regime are still underway.
sreda 6.03.2013 | 11:39 | Source: Tanjug | Comments: (0) | Send comment
BELGRADE -- Serbian Foreign Minister Ivan Mrkić has stated that during his visit to Zagreb he came across a warm welcome and cooperativeness of Croatian officials.
sreda 6.03.2013 | 11:28 | Source: B92 | Comments: (2) | Send comment
BELGRADE -- Serbian President Tomislav Nikolić cannot keep up with the changes that the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) is going through, says historian Nikola Samardžić.
sreda 6.03.2013 | 09:24 | Source: Danas | Comments: (2) | Send comment
BELGRADE -- The Democratic Party (DS) has joined Berlin’s request that First Deputy PM Aleksandar Vučić should be more actively involved in the Belgrade-Priština dialogue.
sreda 6.03.2013 | 09:07 | Source: Tanjug | Comments: (2) | Send comment
BRUSSELS -- Serbian government’s Office for Kosovo Director Aleksandar Vulin says Priština is blocking the implementation of agreements on exchange of liaison officers.
