Izvor: N1 televizija, 27.Jul.2018, 22:15 (ažurirano 02.Apr.2020.)
Transparency Serbia: Government only reacts to pressure
The deadline for Serbia to meet 13 recommendations by the Council of Europe (CoE) special anti-corruption body GRECO expires this October, but the Transparency Serbia (TS) says that though it is possible, the quality and implementation are questionable, N1 reported on Friday.
The 2017 GRECO’s report warned that Serbia “was regressing in fighting corruption,” prompting the government to form a coordinating team for accelerating the implementation of demanded standards. The >> Pročitaj celu vest na sajtu N1 televizija << teams' primary target is the corruption among the MPs, judges, and prosecutors.
Zlata Djordjevic from the TS said those recommendations dated back to 2015 but were not made public until last October.
“The government eventually reacted last May, after sending its report to the CoE,” she said, adding that if the National strategy for fighting corruption and the Action plan for the chapter 23 (judiciary and fundamental rights) in accession talks with the European Union were respected, the government would have responded timely to the recommendations.
She added that that showed the government made moves only under pressure.
“But,” she said, “there is not enough pressure (from Europe), or it is somehow blurred, in the shadow of the greater issues, like the situation in Kosovo and the region generally.”
The CoE launched a procedure against Serbia and eight more countries for failing to meet the standards although the 2017 and 2018 were declared the years of fighting corruption.
“The government could still react promptly with several key laws like the one about lobbying and law on Agency for fighting corruption, but their quality and implementation are ambiguous,” Djordjevic said.
