Joint conference of the Committee of the Regions the Congress – “The role of local and regional authorities in preventing corruption and promoting good governance”

28 February 2017, Brussels

Speaking notes for Gudrun Mosler-Törnström, President of the Congress

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Dear President,

Dear colleagues,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Seven years ago, the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities and the Committee of the Regions, together with the City of Messina, and the Sicilian Region, organised a conference in Messina on the prevention of corruption at local and regional levels. That marked the beginning of our cooperation on this issue. So it is a great pleasure for me to be here today, in my capacity as the President of the Congress to address you as we take this cooperation to a new level.

For the past month, hundreds of thousands of Romanians are taking to the streets of Bucharest to protest against a contentious decree that would have decriminalised some corruption offences and protected politicians from prosecution. Two weeks ago, citizens gathered in Paris and in other French cities, to protest against the corruption of elected officials. These demonstrations are a clear indication of the widespread discontent that grows among the citizens, and shows that no country in Europe is spared from corruption.

Let me begin by reaffirming the strong commitment of the Congress in the fight against corruption. At its last session, on October 2016, the Congress adopted a “Roadmap of activities for preventing corruption and promoting public ethics at local and regional levels”. It is a comprehensive and long-term approach to corruption prevention that sends a clear signal of our intention to make this a priority activity for 2017 and the years to come.

At the same session, the Congress adopted its priorities for 2017-2020. In these priorities we affirm that we will work on means to prevent corruption, and strengthen values based on ethics and transparency, including transparency in declarations of interest and public procurement. It will promote rigorous governance frameworks and the development of common standards and will support the development and use of e-democracy tools which can help to increase transparency and better involve citizens.

While the problem of corruption is acute at all levels of government and in all the countries of the European Union and the Council of Europe, our job is to focus on the local and regional levels. The importance of this issue is clear as there is a strong link between the behaviour of elected representatives and the quality of governance. It is the matter of trust between constituencies and their elected representatives. 

Why is this issue particularly important in local government affairs?

In many European countries, local authorities are managing a bigger and bigger share of public expenditure. As our colleagues in the Committee of the Regions are well aware, regions are more and more involved in the co-financing and management of European funds. This is a good thing. This has been the political direction of both our institutions’ work for years.

Yet local and regional authorities have seen their budgets and competences increase without a corresponding improvement control and disciplinary procedures. If we witness an increase in corruption at the local level, then the principle of decentralisation could be threatened.

Power brings responsibility and opens doors for possible abuse. The increasing number of local and regional elected representatives, the great authority and discretion they are given and the fact that local governments are the major employers, regulators and service providers in many cities and regions may lead to conflicts of interests, clientelism and nepotism.

All in all, corruption is intrinsically linked to the complexity of today’s societies.

Preventing and combating it is not only a legal and an economic necessity but must also be seen as an imperative for rooting decentralisation in Europe and for improving governance at local and regional levels. If competences of local and regional authorities are not to be called into question, we must fight against corruption in all its forms. This is the only way to ensure decentralisation and to resist potential attempts to recentralise powers and competences.

Two principles are closely related to this issue: public ethics and transparency.

The Congress took up the issue of ethical governance almost 20 years ago. Back in 1999, it adopted a "Code of Conduct for the integrity of local and regional elected representatives”, setting out general principles governing public duties and specific obligations of elected representatives during the taking, holding and relinquishing of office. In this Code, we have affirmed that in fulfilling their responsibility, local and regional elected representatives have a duty to uphold high ethical values in their conduct.

We have now begun revising that code of conduct and we have decided to extend it to unelected officials in local and regional administrations. I am convinced that the exchanges that will be held today, especially during our roundtable on Codes of conduct this afternoon, will make a valuable contribution to this work.

In the Congress we are convinced that the key elements for fighting corruption at local and regional levels are the sharing of ethical values, the respect and the control of the rule of law and of the public interest, transparency and the involvement of citizens in the management of public values.

That is why we believe it is important to increase publicity with regard to all decisions concerning the performances of municipalities and regions. In this respect, the existing Code of Conduct proposed means of supervision, such as the declaration, on request, of election campaign expense, of personal interests or other functions.

It also requires transparency in exercising the public duties, like making public decisions and grounds for decisions or responding to any request from the public concerning local government affairs. It also promotes measures fostering openness. Publishing data makes it easier for the civil society to scrutinize public spending, potentially adding an informal venue for detecting corruption.

In this regard, at its next session the Congress will examine a report on “Open data for better public services”. This report examines how the release and the re-use of public data can give local governments the opportunity to transform themselves into more transparent, democratic and effective authorities. It gives numerous examples of how city data is being used to increase transparency, accountability and public participation, in areas such as participatory budgeting, fiscal transparency and political transparency.

The fight against corruption and the promotion of public ethics is a long-term priority for the Congress, and I am confident that both our institutions will agree not just to continue but to strengthen our concerted effort to improve local and regional standards in this area.

I am confident that this conference will serve to launch a new phase in our cooperation in this fight. Together we can make a real impact.

Thank you.