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National Integrity System 1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Transparency International-Greece would like to thank everyone who contributed in any way to this research, and particularly: the Advisory Committee of the project for their full support and useful comments, all those who accepted to be interviewed by the researcher, testifying their valuable knowledge and experience, the external supervisor Mr. Stathis Kalyvas, Arnold Wolfers Professor of Political Science, Yale University, our partners in different branches of Transparency International, who shared their experience with us, our partners in the Secretariat of Transparency International for their contribution in matters of design and methodology. 2 ABBREVIATIONS ACA Anti-Corruption Agencies ACCI Athens Chamber of Commerce & Industry ADEDY Supreme Administration of Civil Servants’ Trade Unions AED Supreme Special Court AP Supreme Court APOPLOUS “Principles of Attachment to the Quality of Operation and Organisation Serving Our Aims” ASE Athens Stock Exchange BA Bachelor’s Degree POESY Pan-Hellenic Federation of Journalists’ Unions . CBR Code of Books and Records CL Compulsory Law DEI Public Power Corporation of Greece DEY Directorate of Internal Affairs of Hellenic Police DHSY Democratic Alliance Party DSA Athens Bar Association ECB European Central Bank ECJ European Court of Justice ELAS Hellenic Police ELTA Hellenic Post Office EMU Economic and Monetary Union 3 ABBREVIATIONS ES Court of Audit ESDDA National School for Public Administration & Local Administration ESIEA Union of Journalists of Daily Newspapers of Athens ESIEMTH Union of Journalists of Daily Newspapers of Macedonia-Thrace EU European Union GDP Gross Domestic Product GEDD General Inspector of Public Administration GP General Partnership IMF International Monetary Fund . KPD Code of Criminal Procedure LAOS Popular Orthodox Rally LCS Legal Council of State LP Limited Partnership Ltd Limited Company MD Ministerial Decision NCRTV National Council for Radio and Television ND New Democracy NGO Non-Governmental Organisation NIS National Integrity System OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development 4 ABBREVIATIONS OSCE Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe PASOK Panhellenic Socialist Movement PD Presidential Decree S.A. Société Anonyme SC Special Court SDOE Financial and Economic Crime Unit SEEDD Corps of Inspectors-Auditors of Public Administration SEV Hellenic Federation of Enterprises SOEE Inspections – Controls Coordinative Body . StE Council of State SYRIZA Coalition of the Radical Left Party TI Transparency International TI-Greece Transparency International-Greece UN United Nations VAT Value Added Tax YDAS Directorate General of the International Developmental Cooperation YPOADIE Financial Police and Electronic Crime Prosecution Agency ΕRΤ Greek Radio Television S.A. ΕΝΑΕ Union of Prefectural Administrations of Greece 5 ABBREVIATIONS ΙΚΑ Social Security Institute ΚΚΕ Communist Party of Greece ΟΕΚ Workers’ Housing Organisation ΟΤΕ Hellenic Telecommunications Organisation . 6 TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 1 ABBREVIATIONS 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS 6 ABOUT THE NATIONAL INTEGRITY SYSTEM ASSESSMENT – METHODOLOGY OF THE RESEARCH 8 SUMMARY 15 THE PROFILE OF GREECE 19 THE PROFILE OF CORRUPTION IN GREECE 25 MEASURES AGAINST CORRUPTION 29 THE PILLARS OF THE NATIONAL INTEGRITY SYSTEM LEGISLATURE 32 . EXECUTIVE 44 JUDICIARY 58 PUBLIC SECTOR 71 ANTI-CORRUPTION AGENCIES 88 ELECTORAL MANAGEMENT BODY 103 OMBUDSMAN 114 COURT OF AUDIT 124 POLITICAL PARTIES 134 MEDIA 147 CIVIL SOCIETY 159 BUSINESS 167 CONCLUSION 177 7 BIBLIOGRAPHY 182 ANNEXES ANNEX Ι: INTERVIEWS 192 ANNEX ΙΙ: AGENDA OF NATIONAL WORKSHOP 193 ANNEX ΙΙΙ: PARTICIPANTS IN THE NATIONAL WORKSHOP 194 ANNEX IV: PILLAR SCORES 196 ANNEX V: NIS FOUNDATION 197 . 8 ABOUT THE NIS ASSESSMENT – RESEARCH METHODOLOGY NATIONAL INTEGRITY SYSTEM Media Judiciary Business Executive Legislature Civil Society Ombudsman Public Sector Audit Institution Law Enforcement Political Parties Electoral Mgt. Body Anti-Corruption Agencies FOUNDATIONS Political-Institutional, Socio-Political and Socio-Economic A series of high profile corruption cases in the private and public sector has highlighted the urgent need to . confront corruption in Europe. Corruption undermines good governance, the rule of law and fundamental human rights. It deceives citizens, becomes harmful to the private sector and distorts financial markets. Seventy eight per cent (78%) of Europeans surveyed for the EU Commission’s 2009 Eurobarometer believed that corruption is a major setback for their country. This report is part of a pan-European anti- corruption initiative supported by the DG Home Affairs of the European Commission. This initiative aims to systematically assess the National Integrity Systems (NIS) of 25 European States, and to advocate for sustainable and effective reform, as appropriate, in different countries. The National Integrity System assessment approach used in this report provides a framework to analyse the effectiveness of a country’s institutions in preventing and fighting corruption. A well-functioning NIS safeguards against corruption and contributes to the larger struggle against the abuse of power, malfeasance and misappropriation in all its forms. When the NIS institutions are portrayed by the appropriate regulations and accountable behaviour corruption is less likely to thrive. This causes positive knock-on effects for the goals of good governance, the rule of law and the protection of fundamental human rights. Strengthening the NIS promotes better governance across all parts of society, and ultimately contributes to a more just society overall. Given that corruption is the source of numerous malfunctions in Greece, the holistic assessment of the National Integrity System (NIS), which is carried out for the first time, is of special interest both for TI-Greece and for the country itself. Greece suffers from abundant corruption mainly in the public sector, which not only devastates the well-being of citizens, but does also have a negative impact on the country’s image in the international scene. As a consequence, it is not only the relevant legal framework that needs to be amended, but above all the mentality that preserves corruption. 9 The TI-Greece NIS report addresses 13 “pillars” or institutions believed to make up the integrity system of the country. Namely: Government Public sector Non-governmental Legislature Public Administration Media Executive Law Enforcement Agencies Civil Society Judiciary Electoral Management Body Political Parties Ombudsman Business Electoral Management Body Anti-corruption Agencies Notably, in the case of Greece the “pillars” of Law Enforcement and Anti-Corruption Agencies are examined together under the “pillar” Anti-Corruption Agencies, due to their close interlinkages. As a result, a total of 12 pillars will be examined in this report. Furthermore, it should be mentioned that in the case of Greece each “pillar” does not necessarily concern a single institution; quite a few pillars examine multiple institutions, given that it is possible that more than one institution retains accountability in the relevant field. Each institution is assessed along three dimensions that are essential to its ability to prevent corruption: . First, its overall capacity in terms of resources and legal status, which underlies any effective institutional performance. Second, its internal governance regulations and practices, focusing on whether the institution is transparent and accountable, and acts with integrity; all the aforementioned are crucial elements to preventing the institution from engaging in corruption. Thirdly, the extent to which the institution fulfils its assigned role in the anti-corruption system, such as providing effective oversight of the government (for the legislature) or prosecuting corruption cases (for the law enforcement agencies). These three dimensions cover the institution’s ability to act (capacity), its internal performance (governance) and its external performance (role) with regard to the commission of fighting corruption. Each dimension is measured by a common set of indicators. The assessment examines both the legal framework of each pillar as well as its actual institutional practice, thereby highlighting discrepancies between the formal provisions and reality on the ground. Dimension Indicators (law, practice) Resources Capacity Independence Transparency Governance Accountability Integrity Role within governance system Between 1 and 3 indicators, specific to each pillar 10 The assessment does not seek to offer an in-depth evaluation of each pillar, but a broad span that covers a wide number of indicators across all relevant pillars in order to gain a view of the overall system. The assessment also looks at the interactions between institutions to understand why some are more robust than others and how they influence each other. The NIS presupposes that weaknesses in a single institution could lead to serious flaws in the entire system. Understanding the interactions between pillars also helps to prioritize areas for reform. In order to take account of important contextual factors, the evaluation of the governance institutions is embedded in a concise analysis of the overall political, social, economic and cultural conditions, the foundations of these pillars. Methodology The NIS assessment is a qualitative research tool based on a combination of desk research, in-depth interviews and, optionally, field tests. The relevancy and accuracy of the final
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