Monaco: GRECO's report

Broadly, the GRECO report calls on the Principality to decisively complete and extend the recent legislation applicable to members of the Government to enhance the coherence of the anti-corruption system and provide all guarantees of integrity. A series of recommendations is specifically proposed:For Central Governments (High Executive Positions):

• Regulated Appointments: Impose integrity checks before the appointment of senior officials to detect and manage the risks of conflicts of interest.
• Anti-Corruption Strategy: Develop a comprehensive anti-corruption strategy, including an operational action plan based on risk mapping, covering all individuals holding high executive positions, including the Secretary of State for Justice and the Prince's collaborators.
• Transparency of the Sovereign Prince: Implement measures to enhance the transparency of the Sovereign Prince's actions, particularly regarding contacts with interest representatives and gifts received.
• Conduct Rules: Adopt conduct rules and practical guidelines for senior officials covering integrity, conflicts of interest, relations with lobbyists, gifts, etc.
• Institutional Framework: Establish an institutional framework to apply and sanction ethical and integrity rules, with confidential ethical advice available to senior officials.
• Training: Offer systematic and regular training on ethics and integrity, with best practice guides available.
• Public Access to Information: Enhance public access to information on executive activities, including the communication of regulatory and individual acts.
• Budget Transparency: Implement procedures to strengthen the transparency and control of public budget usage allocated to the Sovereign House.
• Public Procurement: Strengthen transparency rules for public procurement and introduce specific provisions to prevent conflicts of interest.
• Contacts with Lobbyists: Establish rules to regulate senior officials' contacts with lobbyists, including the disclosure of contact details.
• Conflict of Interest Prevention: Take measures to prevent conflicts of interest directly or indirectly affecting the Sovereign Prince.
• Interest Declarations: Make ministers' declarations of interest public, subject them to substantive control, and provide appropriate sanctions.
• Incompatibilities and Parallel Activities: Strengthen rules on incompatibilities and parallel activities for government members and the Secretary of State for Justice.
• Acceptance of Gifts: Complete the rules on the acceptance of gifts and advantages by ministers and their collaborators with clear declaration procedures and publicize the information.
• Post-Function Restrictions: Establish binding rules on post-function restrictions, with a transparency and control mechanism.
• Wealth Declarations: Complete and make public the wealth declaration regime for ministers, potentially including family members' assets, and extend it to other senior officials.
• Whistleblower Protection: Adopt a law to establish a reporting and protection system for individuals reporting suspicions of corruption and other misconduct.

For Law Enforcement Services:

• Anti-Corruption Strategy: Design a tailored anti-corruption and integrity promotion strategy based on risk mapping.
• Code of Ethics: Complete the police code of ethics with concrete guidelines and best practices accessible to all officers, integrated into initial and continuous training programs.
• Ethics Training: Regularly provide mandatory ethics and integrity training for all police personnel.
• Transparent Appointments: Ensure the appointment of Public Security Director, Deputy Director, and Police Commissioners follows rules guaranteeing transparency and merit-based decisions, with integrity checks before appointment to manage conflict of interest risks.
• Wealth Declarations: Complete the wealth declaration regime for police leaders to allow effective and long-term control, with appropriate sanctions for non-compliance.
• Public Awareness: Consider implementing a program to raise public awareness and inform about police integrity rules.
• Corruption Reporting: Establish an obligation for Public Security officers to report corruption incidents during service, develop and implement whistleblower protection measures in the police, and organize dedicated training and awareness activities on whistleblower protection measures for all police personnel levels.
• Resident Card Issuance: Special attention should be paid to the police's competence in issuing resident cards, which confer advantageous tax status and pose integrity risks for personnel.
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GRECO invites authorities to comply with the recommendations by December 31, 2025, for reassessment. On a positive note, and as highlighted by the Principality in a statement, GRECO notes that Monegasque authorities have already implemented government-level anti-corruption regulations, appointed an ethics officer, formed an ethics committee, conducted risk mapping, and initiated a draft law on whistle blowers.

The Principality has also 'committed to continuing its efforts and advancing its anti-corruption legislation in respect of its Institutions, as it has done for over ten years in previous evaluation cycles.'

Michel Partout, Head of the Princely Government, also reacted to the report, pointing out that the Principality had not waited for this assessment before taking action, and that work on a global strategy to combat corruption had already begun (see: extending the system of declarations of assets and interests to close associates and soon to the Sovereign's advisors and the Secretary of State for Justice).

He points out that some objectives will not wait until the 18-month deadline, while others merit in-depth consideration to take into account the Principality's specific circumstances.