On 5 July 2024, the Council of Europe Economic Crime and Cooperation Division organised a high-level roundtable “Presentation of the findings from the Corruption Risk Mapping process”. The aim of the event was to present the findings of the corruption risk mapping process conducted using the Council of Europe Methodology. The event gathered 61 participants representing the Assembly of Kosovo, line ministries, public institutions, socially owned enterprises and EU Delegation in Pristina.
The Council of Europe provided tailored assistance to the Agency for Prevention of Corruption (APC) throughout the various stages of the corruption risk mapping process. Most notably, the project organised a number of activities and provided expert advice both in written form and through consultative meetings in the period from October 2023 to June 2024.
The abovementioned efforts were highlighted by the Minister of Justice who acknowledged the valuable support provided by the Council of Europe and reiterated the authorities’ commitment to several reforms in the areas of rule of law and fight against corruption. The added value of the Council of Europe in providing technical support based on consolidated methodologies was also stressed by the Chair of the Assembly Committee overseeing the work of the Agency for Prevention of Corruption. Acknowledging the close partnership with the APC in carrying out this process, the EU representatives emphasised the role of solid partnerships between public institutions, civil society organisations, and international organisations in sharing best practices, leveraging expertise, and coordinating responses to corruption challenges.
Corruption risk mapping is a process that serves to identify and assess sectors, activities and/or functions with a likely higher risk of corruption at national level. It is a unique effort as it provides an assessment of corruption risks based on real and factual data. In this regard, the results of this exercise will enable Kosovo authorities to get a clear understanding of high-risk sectors, allowing the APC to further focus its resources on carrying-out in-depth risk assessment of identified (priority) sectors.
Taking into consideration the fact that such an assessment has been conducted for the first time in Kosovo and in the region, the event also provided an opportunity to share lessons and experiences with representatives from the State Minister for Public Administration and Anti-Corruption and General Directorate of Anticorruption in Albania.
This initiative builds upon joint European Union/Council of Europe and beneficiaries’ efforts in identifying challenges faced and improvement needs with regard to countering corruption in Kosovo. It also takes into consideration the Anti-Corruption Assessment of 2018 conducted within the phase II of the project (PECK II).
The activity was organised as part of the “Project against Economic Crime” (PECK III), jointly funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the latter.
