OSCE Mission to Skopje holds regional conference on preventing corruption
SKOPJE, 6 November 2012 – Exchanging best practices among anti-corruption agencies from South Eastern and Eastern Europe on the introduction of systems of integrity in public institutions is the aim of an OSCE-supported regional conference that started in Ohrid today.
During the event, representatives of national public institutions, as well as regional anti-corruption agencies and independent experts from Slovenia, Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria and Serbia will share their countries’ experiences on the application of integrity models and on their policies to prevent corruption.
The project is part of a three-year plan of the OSCE Mission to Skopje to support the implementation of the State Programme for Prevention and Repression of Corruption 2011-2015 in co-operation with State Commission for Prevention of Corruption and Transparency International Macedonia.
“According to the state programme, in the context of implementing good governance principles public institutions should introduce measures to promote integrity and prevent corruption,” said Ambassador Natalya Drozd, the Deputy Head of OSCE Mission to Skopje. “The OSCE Mission to Skopje organized this conference to help identify the most suitable model for the host country, learning from the experiences of others who have already implemented similar initiatives in the region.”
The State Commission for Prevention of Corruption is expected to introduce the system to promote integrity in the national institutions through legislative amendments in 2013.
Ljubinka Koraboska, the President of the State Commission said: “This regional conference will give us an opportunity to learn from renowned experts from other countries, and compare their experiences and opinions. This will help our Commission to effectively implement best practices in co-operation with local institutions and decide on the main elements of the integrity-promotion concept in our country.”
Slagana Taseva, the President of Transparency International Macedonia said that integrity is one of the most important concepts in good governance. “The modalities are different, but goals are the same. Only with a joint effort could we create an efficient front against corruption,” she said.