Corruption bill stalls at the gates

CYPRUS could be find itself in hot water with the European Union concerning the delays in passing laws requiring state officials to file capital statements as well as placing civil servants under a clear obligation to report suspicions of corruption.

The state’s legal service put the pressure on last Tuesday with an urgent letter to the president of the House, asking him to respond with the status of the bills by the end of the week. Cyprus will have to brief the Group of States Against Corruption (GRECO) next week in Strasbourg.
The bills effectively contain GRECO’s recommendations, which Cyprus is obliged to put into practice as a member of the group.

Despite the urgency of the situation, the House has still been dragging its feet, which will almost certainly lead to a dressing down since there is no sign of the bills being passed any time soon.
Last Thursday – one day before the legal service’s deadline expired – AKEL requested a 15-day extension to “study the matter further”.

GRECO suggested that a system should be established for the declaration of assets and interests of high state officials, including deputies, the President of the Republic, the Attorney-general and ministers.

AKEL however wants the bill to include mayors, municipal councillors and semi-governmental organisation officials.

DISY deputy Ionas Nicolaou told the Cyprus Mail that to this day AKEL has not tabled any proposals concerning the matter.

Nicolaou said he expected GRECO to reprimand Cyprus over the delays, adding that his party has prepared legislation for both issues. The issue is scheduled for discussion this Thursday.
Cyprus ratified the Criminal Law Convention on Corruption in January 2001. The Convention aims at the co-ordinated criminalisation of a large number of corrupt practices including active and passive bribery of domestic and foreign officials, parliamentarians, civil servants, judges, as well as trading in influence and accounting offences.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.