Agency for Prevention of Corruption

Announcement from the 44th session of the Council of the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption

March 15, 2021
Council of the Agency for Prevention of Corrupiton

At today's session, the APC Council adopted the Report on the Work of APC for 2020,

as well as the Report on the Execution of the Budget of the APC for 2020.

The Decision on Amendments to the Statute of APC was also adopted, which, among other things, regulates issues related to the establishment of internal audit of financial operations in the APC, transfer of authority by directors to employees, introduces a general provision relating to internal organization and systematization of jobs in APC, and specifies the presidency of the constitutive session of the APC Council.

When it comes to the Report on the Work of the APC for 2020, the APC Council assessed that in the previous year, measurable results were achieved and to the greatest extent fulfilled, and in some areas exceeded, all goals set by the Work Plan.

In the reporting period, a total of 344 administrative proceedings were initiated in the areas of prevention of conflicts of interest and violation of restrictions on the performance of public functions, verification of income and assets of public officials and the elections held on August 30, 2020. Violations of the law were found in 109 proceedings.

During 2020, the Administrative Court issued 13 judgments on lawsuits against APC acts in the area of ​​prevention of conflicts of interest and violation of restrictions on the performance of public functions, and verification of income and assets of public officials. In 8 cases, the decisions of APC were annulled and returned for retrial, while 3 lawsuits were rejected, i.e. the decisions of the Agency were confirmed, while in 1 case the prosecutor dropped the lawsuit against the decision of APC, while one procedure was suspended.

Regarding the lawsuits filed against APC acts in the proceedings on complaints due to suspicions of violation of the LFPEEC during the election campaign for the elections held in August, the Administrative Court issued 34 decisions on the lawsuits in 2020 and all of them were rejected.

During 2020, the Agency initiated a total of 552 misdemeanor proceedings for violating anti-corruption laws, of which 81.6% were sanctioned. The total amount of fines, including realized orders, is € 89,659.

In the area of ​​prevention of conflicts of interest and restrictions in the performance of public functions, the Agency issued 135 Opinions that are binding on public officials and issued 63 Decisions, of which 60.3% were found to be in violation of the Law.

Based on the opinions given and the decisions made, 41 public officials resigned from public office, while one was dismissed. In addition, public officials have resigned 16 positions in companies.

In 2020, there was an increase in the number of reported gifts, sponsorships and donations. 14.2% more donations were reported, and a constant growth trend of reported donations has been recorded since the establishment of the APC. Also, the number of registered gifts increased by 3.8%, while the number of registered sponsorships increased by 13.3% compared to the previous year.

The Agency fully implemented the Annual Plan for Verification of Reports on Income and Assets and exceeded the number of planned verifications. During 2020, 95.5% of public officials and 99.9% of civil servants submitted reports within the legal deadline. The number of misdemeanor proceedings in the area of ​​income and assets registration is 27.4% higher than in 2019.

At the end of 2020, the monitoring of the so-called lifestyle of public officials has begun, based on media articles and other information of the Agency.

During the election process in 2020, the Agency exercised substantial control over the activities, funds collected and spent during the campaign of political entities, and controlled compliance with the prescribed obligations, prohibitions and restrictions on the use of public resources in the campaign by subjects to the law.

In 2020, 75 whistleblower applications were filed. In three procedures, the existence of endangerment of the public interest was determined and four recommendations were given to legal entities to improve transparency and eliminate corruption risks. Also, APC initiated three proceedings ex officio.

Three requests for protection of whistleblowers were submitted, and in the reporting period, APC completed the procedures for three requests for protection from 2019 and in two cases issued opinions in which it determined that damage had been caused to whistleblowers. In that sense, APC gave a total of four recommendations to the employer on what should be done in order to eliminate the damage.

In the area of ​​adoption and implementation of integrity plans, a high degree of implementation of planned activities can be stated, bearing in mind that 679 reports on implementation of integrity plan for the previous year were submitted to the Agency, while 98% of authorities appointed integrity manager and adopted integrity plan.

Given the number of registered lobbyists (5 individuals) and the fact that the first lobbyist was registered in November 2017, the implementation of the Law on Lobbying remains a challenge. The Agency approached the analysis of normative solutions in the field of lobbying, because the shortcomings of the application of regulations in practice were noticed.

In 2020, the Agency passed an Opinion on the Law on Sports and an Opinion on the Draft Law on Amendments to the Law on Civil Servants and State Employees.

The number of initiated misdemeanor proceedings for violation of the provisions of the law within the competence of APC during 2020 (552) is higher by 29.3% compared to 2019, which was largely influenced by the growth of misdemeanor proceedings for violation of provisions in the field of income and assets of public officials. In addition, a higher number of proceedings for violations of the provisions of the LFPEEC was recorded during the election campaign in 2020. The Agency initiated 87% fewer misdemeanor proceedings compared to the number of misdemeanor proceedings initiated in connection with the 2016 parliamentary election campaign.

The Agency has fulfilled all obligations arising from Montenegro's membership in key international and regional organizations that define and monitor the implementation of standards in the field of anti-corruption and strengthen the human resources of APC and law enforcement agencies through support projects. Also, the Agency actively participated in the process of Montenegro's accession to the EU through Chapter 23, in the part of measures within its competences.

The cooperation between APC and the NGO sector has been intensified and deepened, and transparency has been strengthened through greater openness to the media.

According to the findings of the regular annual public opinion poll, 72.3% of respondents have confidence in the work of APC in the fight against corruption, which is as much as 10.7% more than in 2019. In this research, the Agency is also in the first place among the institutions to which citizens would report corruption, with a constant trend of growing trust (36.7% compared to 2016).

The Agency's budget for 2020 amounted to EUR 1,539,211.58, of which EUR 1,270,622.03 was spent (execution percentage is 82.55).

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