The 23rd Annual Conference and General Assembly of the European Partners Against Corruption (EPAC) and the European Contact Point Network Against Corruption (EACN) were held in Bucharest, Romania. During the event, the Bucharest Declaration was adopted, aiming to strengthen the joint commitments of states to work together more effectively in combating corruption and building integrity, not only in the public sector but also by empowering society to act.
The event in Bucharest was attended by 170 participants representing nearly 100 institutions from over 30 countries. Presentations were given by representatives of the United Nations, European Union, European Public Prosecutor's Office, Europol, the U.S. Department of Justice, and anti-corruption bodies from other countries.
As stated by Ovidiu-Ciprian Antohe, Director of the General Anticorruption Directorate (DGA) within the Romanian Ministry of Internal Affairs: “Corruption is a complex issue that transcends national borders, a worldwide plague that affects all societies and all aspects of social life, making it challenging for any single institution or country to effectively address it alone. Our almost 20 year experience with national and international partners has shown that sharing best practices, knowledge and resources is the best way to achieve tangible results in this field. This Conference provides an exceptional opportunity to enhance international cooperation in the field of integrity and to strengthen our shared efforts to prevent and combat corruption. Through open dialogue and exchange of experiences among experts from various countries, we actively contribute to developing more effective responses to corruption”.
“The topic of the Conference perfectly reflects the essence of our mission: integrity and transparency are the foundation of trust in our societies. This is a core principle of our work. However, achieving integrity is only possible through unity – when representatives from different countries, institutions, and sectors join forces to combat corruption,” said Linas Pernavas, EPAC/EACN President and Director of the Special Investigation Service, during his opening speech.
The Conference primarily focused on the challenges of investigating international corruption crimes, with significant attention given to innovative tools and methods for investigating financial crimes, high-level corruption cases, and international bribery investigations, as well as asset recovery procedures related to proceeds from corruption-related criminal activities. Breakout sessions explored the growing importance of big data analytics, its proactive use in uncovering corruption-related crimes, identifying potential corruption risks, contributing to the initiation of investigations, and successful case resolution.
The goal of the EPAC/EACN network is to strengthen cooperation through the exchange of best practices in anti-corruption efforts and police oversight. Following this year's General Assembly, five new members joined the network, bringing the total to 120 European institutions from 38 countries.
Funded by the European Union’s Internal Security Fund-Police