Transparency International (TI) national chapters carry out anti-corruption projects relevant for or related to the EU. The TI Brussels office supports and coordinates these efforts to ensure linkage, consistency and high quality results.

The Europe and Central Asia department at the TI secretariat in Berlin works to support the national chapters in their anti-corruption efforts at the national level and it acts as a liaison for TI’s regional and global programmes.

Towards an EU-wide anti-corruption monitoring system
TI chapters in EU accession candidate countries as well as in EU member states monitor the implementation of EU anti-corruption criteria, based on the relevant EU document Acquis Communautaire - click here for more information. They also lobby for their country's compliance with the United Nations Convention Against Corruption.

Research on EU budget transparency in the United Kingdom
Transparency International national chapters in the UK and the Czech Republic are conducting research on the level of transparency of the EU budget and EU spending.

Monitoring of EU structural funds in Romania
Transparency International Romania is currently implementing an EU-funded PHARE project on the monitoring of EU structural funds in Romania.

Advocacy and Legal Advice Centres (ALACs) in Europe
Responding to the needs of citizens to receive guidance regarding their rights, Transparency International established Advocacy and Legal Advice Centres (ALACs) in all accession candidate countries and in many EU member states. The centres provide legal assistance to victims and witnesses of corruption, helping them to pursue corruption-related complaints. Using information gained from cases - either individually or the common factors observed in a number of cases - the ALACs are able to advocate for reform based on concrete evidence.

Working in the TI multi-stakeholder tradition, ALACs aim to create dialogue, informal feedback, and working partnerships with government institutions charged with anti-corruption. In a nut-shell, ALACs seek to translate citizens’ concerns about and experiences with corruption into structural changes for better local and national governance.

ALACs have proven to be effective in empowering people in the fight against corruption. Advocacy campaigns also create a virtuous circle, helping to establish the profile and reputation of the ALAC, which, in turn, encourages more citizens to join in the struggle and do something about corruption.

Working Group on judiciary resources/means in the fight against corruption
Although judicial corruption is not a dominant issue in France, it is recognised that there is a lack of political will to effectively enforce anti-corruption laws. Courts are often not provided with adequate resources to specifically tackle corruption, such as specialised judges and personnel or procedures that facilitate detection and investigation of corruption cases.

For more information visit the website of TI France.

Training for judges on corruption risks in Hungary
In Hungary, the judiciary is very independent, but at the same time not always held accountable. Selection and promotion of judges is not transparent and their self-governing system is very closed and bound by personal interests. Many judges consider themselves an elite that is not subject to any controls and does not require professional development. The programme aims to change this approach in the long term by training 30 young judges and 10 heads of court per year. The number of participants will be increased depending on funding.

For more information visit the website of TI Hungary.

Trial Monitoring of Corruption Cases in Macedonia
TI’s partner coalition in Macedonia, All for fair trial and Zero corruption, research and study criminal corruption cases. The project seeks to monitor corruption related criminal cases and to trengthen the cooperation with Basic Public Prosecution offices, the trial Courts, the State anticorruption commission and other relevant institutions in relation to prosecution of the perpetrators of criminal corruption activities. Ultimately, the project and the resulting analysis should help to raise the level of public awareness about the need for criminal prosecution of corruption-related cases.

For several years, Transparency International, in coordination with its national chapters throughout the EU, has successfully carried out several projects to increase awareness and implement structural changes to prevent and fight corruption.
Completed projects include:

• Transparency Awareness (in the new EU member states Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Slovakia)
• Accountability Programme in the Western Balkans
• Civil Control over the Work of Court Experts in Bulgaria
• Court Watch Survey in Albania

Transparency Through Awareness (TTA) project (May 2005 – May 2006) contributed to the effective and transparent use of European Union (EU) structural funds in the new EU member states Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Slovakia, by increasing public and civil society understanding of their purpose, distribution and use.

The Accountability Programme in the Western Balkans (September 2002 – January 2006) worked to address deficiencies in governmental accountability and to provide solutions through areas of good governance. For more information see: Accountability Programme rationale and outline.

As follow-up to this programme, TI produced an overview on the access to information in several South Eastern European countries.

Civil Control over the work of Court Experts in Bulgaria (2005-2006)
The project analysed deficiencies in exercising control over the work of court experts. A set of ethical standards for the work of court experts and a model for their successful implementation within the practice of the courts were developed. The project included a legal analysis, to identify and investigate gaps and loopholes in Bulgarian legislation, to regulate the work of court experts and to assess the effectiveness of existing control and liability mechanisms. A survey was also conducted to analyse public views on the level of transparency in the work of court experts. For more information see: “Court Experts in Bulgaria - Ethical Standards and Mechanisms for Control over their Activity”

Court Watch Survey conducted in Albania (2005)
This survey about citizens’ perception of corruption in ten Albanian districts revealed that judges and prosecutors came third and fourth in a ranking of the districts' professions perceived to be most corrupted- after customs and tax officials. Citizen Advocacy Office has focussed on corruption in the justice system. Concentrated efforts have been put into identifying the problems and factors that cause vulnerability to corruption in order to, promote legal improvements and radical institutional reforms that are indispensable to eradicate corruption in the judiciary.

For more information see TI Albania.