Indietro Strengthening public ethics: new practical guides

Strengthening public ethics: new practical guides

The Congress has just published a series of "Public Ethics" booklets for local and regional elected representatives and public officials, compiling three practical guides entitled: "Conflicts of interest at local and regional levels", "Making public procurement transparent at local and regional levels" and "Transparency and open government".

Local and regional authorities are particularly exposed to the risk of conflicts of interest, in particular because of their proximity to citizens and local entrepreneurs. Through its "Public Ethics" collection, the Congress aims to prevent corruption by addressing it in all its aspects. This is part of the Congress' roadmap on activities to prevent corruption and promote public ethics at local and regional levels. The objective is to provide a set of practical responses to the new challenges facing local and regional authorities.

With the "Conflicts of interest at local and regional levels" guide, the Congress examines the different types of codes of conduct used to deal with conflicts of interest and their effectiveness in combating corruption. It presents the key elements of public policies for managing conflicts of interest, namely: transparency, a clear definition of responsibilities, rules on access to information, and declarations of interest.

The "Making public procurement transparent at local and regional levels" guide identifies structural weaknesses that can encourage corruption. It has been developed as a concrete tool to better understand the complex procurement process.

Finally, the "Transparency and Open Government" guide aims to raise awareness among local and regional elected representatives of the concept of "open government" as a means of preventing corruption and increasing effectiveness of public services, encouraging local and regional elected representatives to involve citizens in their work through better access to information.

Strasbourg, France 22 January 2019
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The European Charter of Local Self-Government lays down standards for protecting the rights of local authorities and requires states which have ratified it to comply with a number of principles. The Congress is responsible for evaluating the application of the Charter in each Member State.

Cooperation and thematic activities complement, in the field, the normative work of the Congress. They are based on the political dialogue and the monitoring of the application of the European Charter of Local Self-Government, and enable the implementation of the adopted recommendations and resolutions.

The Congress periodically observes local and regional elections in Council of Europe member States and, sometimes, beyond. This activity, which may be organised in cooperation with other international organisations, complements the political monitoring of the European Charter of Local Self-Government

Post-monitoring and post-electoral dialogue aims to support national authorities in order to ensure the implementation of the recommendations adopted by the Congress and addressed to the national authorities of member states by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe.

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