The National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) has become a member of the European Partners Against Corruption Network (EPAC/EACN), a network of European anti-corruption organizations and other relevant institutions from Europe.
The decision to include NACP was made during the 23rd Annual Professional Conference and General Assembly of EPAC/EACN, which took place in Bucharest on November 26-27. The event brought together leading anti-corruption experts, prosecutors and law enforcement officials from across Europe.
"Membership in the network will open up new perspectives for the Agency. In particular, it will strengthen our institutional capacity to develop anti-corruption policy, protect whistleblowers, build a virtuous society and eradicate corruption in Ukraine. NACP is constantly expanding its international relations, which allows us to implement the most effective anti-corruption practices. We already cooperate with many of you both internationally and bilaterally. However, we are striving to become part of a large European anti-corruption network,” said NACP Head Viktor Pavlushchyk in his speech.
The conference discussed the protection of the EU's financial interests, new challenges in corruption investigations and oversight of police activities, and whistleblowing. The event is important for the development of Ukraine's international cooperation in the field of anti-corruption and the exchange of best practices to improve integrity in the public sector.
Viktor Pavlushchyk also presented a report on the use of automated tools to ensure integrity in government agencies in a panel discussion on the topic of using automated tools to ensure integrity in government agencies, focusing on the Ukrainian experience in increasing transparency and effectiveness of anti-corruption.
“We focus on digitalization of all spheres of state functioning, because we believe that eliminating the human factor will help reduce corruption risks, as well as increase the openness of our activities and public involvement in the fight against corruption,” said NACP Head. He spoke about the NACP's digital products, in particular, the Unified State Register of Declarations, the Information System for Monitoring the Implementation of the State Anti-Corruption Policy, the Unified Whistleblower Reporting Portal, the POLITDATA Political Party Reporting Register, the Portal for Anti-Corruption Commissioners, and the Unified State Register of Persons Who Committed Corruption or Corruption-Related Offenses (the “Register of Offenders”). The discussion was moderated by Silviu Ioan Popa, Secretary General of the National Integrity Agency of Romania.
In addition, NACP Head took part in the discussion on risk-based approaches to preventing corruption and fraud. The discussion was organized and moderated by Ernst Schmidt, Vice President of EPAC/EACN, representative of the Austrian Federal Anti-Corruption Office.
EPAC and EACN are international organizations that bring together anti-corruption agencies, law enforcement agencies and other relevant structures from more than 35 European countries, as well as about 70 anti-corruption organizations and police oversight bodies. Their main goal is to contribute to the fight against corruption through cooperation, exchange of experience and implementation of best practices. Since 2008, EPAC members have been organizing annual professional conferences that provide opportunities for experience exchange, cooperation, etc.
NACP became the fourth specialized agency in Ukraine to join the network. Previously, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), the Asset Recovery and Management Agency (ARMA) and the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) did so.
