First meeting of the “EU Integrity” sub-working group 4 “Integrity and anti-corruption standards”

From 28 to 29 May 2019, the Austrian Federal Bureau of Anti-Corruption (BAK) hosted the first meeting of the sub-working group 4 (SWG 4) of the “EU Integrity” Working Group (WG) in Vienna, Austria.

SWG 4 focuses on “Integrity and anti-corruption standards”. The WG “EU Integrity” itself had been established by the EPAC/EACN General Assembly during the 18th EPAC/EACN Annual Professional Conference held in October 2018. It is organized under the umbrella of the networks EPAC/EACN.

The meeting was attended by over 20 representatives from 16 countries and of 15 EPAC/EACN member authorities as well as several national guests.

The lecture "Assessing (infra)structures for integrity and compliance: some conceptual thoughts", given by Stephan Leixnering from the Vienna University of Economics and Business on the first day of the event, formed the basis for further discussions on the development of a self-assessment tool.

The second conference day was very interactive; following a short presentation of the “EPAC/EACN Integrity Risk Management Guideline” as a best practice model, participants were divided into three groups to exchange their views on the following topics: “What should be the main components of an integrity infrastructure?” “How should best practices be presented?”

Finally, the steps to be taken until the next meeting of SWG 4, which is expected to be held in the second half of 2019, were discussed.

The numerous informal discussions between experts present at this meeting combined with the enormous exchange of information and experience will contribute to further developing professional standards, promoting international cooperation and creating synergies.