newsitems CoE's GRECO President Kos to EuroFora on EU deal : No 3 levels of fight against Corruption in Europe
CoE's GRECO President Kos to EuroFora on EU deal : No 3 levels of fight against Corruption in Europe
Before a crucial EU-CoE Brussels Meeting next Friday, the President of PanEuropean CoE's Anti-Corruption Watchdog GRECO, the experienced Drago Kos of Slovenia, speaking to "EuroFora" , stressed his openess to any kind of cooperation with EU Commission, excluding only a "duplication of the Monitoring" process, in order to avoid splitting Europe in 3 Parts", with "differend Levels of Anti-Corruption Standards".
He spoke at the conclusion of the 50th Plenary weekly Session of GRECO at the CoE in Strasbourg, with all its "49 Members"-strong, experienced PanEuropean anti-Corruption body, which includes, in addition to the 27 EU Countries, also other CoE Member States (such as Ukraine, Russia, Azerbaidzan, Turkey, etc), and "even Belarus", as he observed.
- EU Commission and COE have already prepared Papers with suggestions on how to cooperate in the common fight against Corruption in future, and we (GRECO) discussed the issue this week in Strasbourg, and we got some important decisions, President Kos told "EuroFora".
- The main point is that we (CoE) are very much in favour of cooperation with the EU, but, at any case, we don't like to see duplication by another, full-fledged Monitoring Mechanism, he stressed.
- This would be "Bad for whole Europe", because "it could Split into 3 Parts", as far as "Anti-Corruption Standards" concerned, GRECO's President warned. : I.e. in a group of EU Member States, in another group for CoE Countries which are not EU Members, and even a third group with some Countries who are not yet CoE Member States, f.ex. Belarus, as well as various other 3rd Countries in regions included in Europe's "Neighbourhood policy", etc. But, "that would be "Devastating" : If you have Differend Levels of (Anti-Corruption) Standards for various States, then, you cannot have good results" in the overall fight against Corruption, Kos concluded.
- In this framework, the idea for EU to accede into GRECO "is, indeed, one of the Possibilities", Kos admitted. - "This is part of EU's Stockholm prohram", on Justice, Home Affairs, and "we (COE) are very much open to discuss everything with EU Commission, including, f.ex. EU's eventual accession to GRECO, etc., anything, except only from another, duplicating Monitoring, he reiterated.
- Such a move seems supported also by CoE's Deputy Secretary General, Mrs Maud de Boehr-Buquicchio, who, speaking earlier in Strasbourg, at the opening of GRECO's weekly Session, pointed out that "EU's active participation in GRECO would create significant added value, by combining GRECO’s extensive Monitoring expertise, with EU's Political leverage, to the benefit of the fight against corruption. ....A New Dynamic might also be brought to Priorities for Future monitoring and implementation support", she added.
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Meanwhile, GRECO adopted this week in Strasbourg 10 Reports on Moldova, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Andorra, Albania, Norway, Sweden, Spain and France, as well as Luxembourg, which, according to the established rules, will be published soon, according to agreements made with each Government.
GRECO also prepared to launch a "New Round" of Monitoring throughout its "49" Member States, (i.e. "including Belarus"), which will be focused, this time, on Corruption issues concerning "Judges and Prosecutors".
-"All this might take something like 4 Years to be completed everywhere, starting from January 2012", estimated Kos. Meanwhile, in addition to Governments' Replies to the Questionaire we've just prepared, and to CoE Experts' Visits on the spot, we want input in order to have as much as possible information also from Civil Society : NGOs, Media, Business, Lawyers, Academia, etc., Drago Kos anounced. "Every bit of information should be send to GRECO's Secretariat", (headed by the experienced Wolfgang Rau).
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Speaking exclusively to "EuroFora", the New EU Parliament's President, former Polish Prime Minister, ChristianDemocrat/EPP MEP Jerzy Busek, welcomed proposals by EuroFora about innovative ways for EU Citizens to attend EU debates before important final decisions which affect people's lives.
- "We (EU Parliament) must be transparent", Buzek stressed from the outset. "We must have clear answers also for delicate questions. If we don't touch a problem, you must know why, and when shall we decide in the nearest future".. "Because "we (EU) must think about Europeans, first of all : They don't understand well what is going on in the EU. So, it's our duty to inform them, to make discussions here more interesting".
"EuroFora" congratulated President Buzek for the anouncement he made, from the 1st day of his election in Strasbourg (on Tuesday, 14 July 2009), on his intention to make transparent debates, exchanges of views, etc. before the final adoption of decisions in EU Parliament's Plenary, when issues are evolving inside Committees, (See earlier publication).
And we reminded, in this regard, that "EuroFora" has been advocating a project for EU Citizens' active involvement in pluralist EU debates before important EU decisions, since more than a Decade : 1997-2007+
- "Thank you. We (EU Parliament), indeed, have exciting debates", Buzek replied. But, in practice, "without a possibility for our Citizens to see them, not even by the Press, the Radio or TV, etc., because it is in Committees", he regreted.
- "But, they (i.e. Media, Citizens, etc) might interact with you, with MEPs, etc, May be we can imagine something", "EuroFora" proposed.
- "Yes, (but) it needs, a quite new idea", Buzed observed.
- "Why not through some innovations ?", "EuroFora" suggested.
- "Precisely, "EuroFora" has such a project, since more than a Decade (1997-2009), to use new technologies for public debates before major EU decisions are taken", we reminded.
- "If you have such proposals, please come to us, come to us. We must" do something, agreed the new EU Parliamen's President.
For that purpose, obviously information and debates are valuable, but purely instrumental, procedural means which can help focus on, and highlight a substantial content, attractive to EU Citizens, which needs to be determined by other, political, and not mediatic factors.
Buzek spoke about the urgent need to overcome the Global Economic Crisis, the struggle for Human and Civic Rights, Democracy, etc., the Eastern Partnership, links with Russia, strategic partnership with USA and emerging countries, etc.
But he also used (while speaking both to "EuroFora" and other Media) the expression : "The Europeans", for EU Citizens. This points right towards what several important EU leaders (including French President Sarkozy, German Chancellor Merkel, etc) have started to highlight particularly during the recent years : That there is a vital need, and an historic opportunity, for the development of a European Conscience, to stimulate e renaissance of a European Identity able to attract Popular support, for the EU to become a strong player in a Multopolar World : In other words, the revitalisation of a project for a "Political Europe".
By a coincidence, this was indirectly but surely reminded, earlier in Strasbourg, by another ... Busek (this time with a "s") :
Speaking to more than 650 participants from CoE's member countries, at the conclusion of the 2009 Summer University of its Political Schools, Erhard Busek, (with an "s"), former vice-Chancellor of Austria and EU Coordinator for South-Eastern Europe, pointed at the current need to revitalize Europe's "Identity", forged by Greek philosophy and Roman Law, Christian values and Enlightment's ideas, etc. through the ages.
- "We have almost the same name with Jerzy Buzek (EU Parliament's new President, who is a former Polish Prime Minister), because both our Families come ...from the same village, located at the Heart of Europe, which was often shared between Poland, Germany and the Czech Republic. But my family emmigrated a long time ago to Austria, while Jerzy Buzek's family remained in Poland", explained f. vice-Chancellor Erhard Busek to "EuroFora".
An astonishingly concrete and simple example of European Integration from the grassroots : Starting by EU Citizens, i.e. those "Europeans", that EU Parliament's new President, Jerzy Buzek (this time with a "z"), wants to bring alongside MEP's decision-making proces, (according to "EuroFora"'s main idea : Comp. supra)...