14th Annual Conference Held in Sofia

Over 80 delegates from EPAC/EACN anti-corruption authorities and police oversight bodies met in Sofia, Bulgaria from 16 to 19 November for the network's Annual Professional Conference and General Assembly.

The event was generously hosted by the Bulgarian Ministry of Interior and the State Agency for National Security (SANS).

Plenary Sessions

Anca Jurma from the Romanian Anti-Corruption Directorate and EPAC/EACN Vice President, presented the results of the recently held workshop on an information exchange system for EPAC/EACN. Delegates agreed to establish a Working Group chaired by the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency (NCA) to look into the practical details of the possible adoption of a dedicated communication tool for EPAC/EACN within the Europol Platform for Experts (EPE).

Mihai Panaite from OLAF provided a synopsis of the most recent developments towards the establishment of the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO), while Gilles Pelayo from the European Commission’s DG Home Affairs outlined the aims, expectations and results of the EU Anti-Corruption Report. Participating authorities agreed to form a Working Group chaired by the Anti-Fraud Office of Catalonia to provide the contribution of EPAC/EACN for the upcoming EU Anti-Corruption Report.

Juliana Petkova from the Bulgarian Public Prosecutor’s Office delivered a presentation on criminal investigations against high-ranking officials in Bulgaria and Borislav Hlebarov from the AFCOS Directorate discussed AFCOS’ role, structures and administrative investigations in the country. The plenary concluded with a report by Georg-Florian Grabenweger from the International Anti-Corruption Academy (IACA) on international anti-corruption developments and IACA’s efforts in the fight against corruption.

Workshops for Anti-Corruption Authorities and Police Oversight Bodies

Two parallel workshops provided ample opportunities for participants to work together and exchange experiences on thematic issues with their peers from anti-corruption authorities (ACAs) and police oversight bodies (POBs).

ACA Workshop: Lionel Benaïche from the Central French Service for Corruption Prevention provided insight into status of whistleblowers in France. Vladimir Radoslavov from SANS and Silviu Popa from the National Integrity Agency (ANI) gave a presentation on the fight against corruption of high-ranking officials in Bulgaria and Romania. 

POB Workshop:  Dominique Devos-Cavier from the General Inspection of the French Police (IGPN) outlined the reform of IGPN, while Anthony Duggan from Garda Siochana and EPAC/EACN Vice President, spoke of the developments and challenges of police oversight in Ireland. In the course of the workshop, three presentations focused on Bulgaria; the anonymous telephone line and website by Juliana Cherneva from the Security of the Ministry of Interior (MoI) Directorate, expert psychological support in corruption prevention by Daniela Nikolova from the Psychology Institute of the Bulgarian MoI and anti-corruption training by Svetlozar Markov from the Bulgarian MoI Academy.

General Assembly

The General Assembly, held on the last day of the conference, re-elected Giovanni Kessler as EPAC/EACN President and Anthony Duggan as Deputy Vice President for POBs, each for another two-year term. The mandates of Margarida Blasco, Anca Jurma and Daniel de Alfonso Laso, all elected by the 2013 General Assembly, will remain in effect until 2015.

In addition, the General Assembly accepted two new members from Moldova to EPAC - the National Anti-Corruption Centre and Anti-Corruption Prosecutor Office.

EPAC/EACN’s 14th Annual Professional Conference and General Assembly closed with the adoption of the Sofia Declaration.