In a new report, the Council of Europe’s Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) has called on Andorra to pursue its efforts to prevent corruption in respect of persons with top executive functions, such as members of the government, high-level officials, special relationship personnel and directors, and members of the Police Corps.
GRECO recognises that there has been some progress regarding transparency. However, the report identifies a number of areas where improvement is needed. Rules requiring integrity checks prior to appointments of ministers and all other persons with top executive functions (PTEFs) should be adopted in order to detect and manage possible risks of conflicts of interest, and the legal status of special relationship personnel should be better regulated.
A co-ordinated strategy to promote integrity among PTEFs needs to be devised on the basis of a risk analysis. In addition, the Prevention and Anti-Corruption Unit should be given adequate financial and human resources to carry out its tasks effectively and proactively. The Code of Conduct for members of the government and high-level officials adopted in November 2023 should be supplemented and accompanied by guidelines on its implementation and should be combined with a mechanism of supervision and sanctions.
With regard to access to information, the report points out that greater public awareness of the right of access to information appears to be necessary. The report also notes that lobbying is not regulated and that there are no rules on post-employment restrictions in respect of PTEFs and calls on the authorities to address these shortcomings.
