The Group of States Against Corruption (GRECO), operating within the Council of Europe, published the summary of two new reports on Turkey's anti-corruption measures. While the evaluations discussed the implementation of the recommendations for MPs, judges and prosecutors, the central government and law enforcement forces, it was stated that progress had been made in some areas, but many recommendations had not yet been fully met.
The first of the reports discussed the implementation status of 22 recommendations published in 2016 to prevent corruption for MPs, judges and prosecutors.
According to GRECO's evaluation, Türkiye has fully fulfilled 6 of these recommendations. It was stated that 9 recommendations were partially implemented, while 7 recommendations were not implemented.
The report's recommendations for MPs also attracted attention. It was stated that Turkey did not fully implement any of the 7 recommendations regarding its MPs.
While GRECO stated that some steps have been taken regarding the transparency of the legislative process, it stated that the ethical framework in the parliament should be further strengthened. The group also called for a code of conduct for MPs to be prepared.
GRECO stated that there is no mechanism for MPs to disclose personal or financial conflicts of interest that may arise during parliamentary debates.
The report also included the assessment that the immunity system should be reviewed.
In addition, the clarification of the rules regarding obtaining the opinions of non-governmental organizations, professional organizations, academics and citizens before draft laws are submitted to or discussed in the Parliament was considered a positive development.
While GRECO stated that there was some progress in the field of judiciary, it noted that some recommendations regarding the basic elements of judicial independence were still not met.
In this context, regulations regarding strengthening the independence of the Council of Judges and Prosecutors, increasing the security of office of judges and prosecutors, and the role of the Ministry of Justice in the selection of judges and prosecutors came to the fore.
GRECO called for more concrete progress on these topics.
Another development that attracted attention for Türkiye in the report was regarding its harmonization status.
GRECO decided that Turkey should no longer be considered in the "globally inadequate" category. Thus, the implementation of the special procedure for countries that did not comply sufficiently with the recommendations was terminated for Türkiye.
In the second report, 32 recommendations were evaluated on preventing corruption and promoting integrity in the central government and law enforcement agencies.
GRECO stated that Turkey has fully fulfilled 4 of these recommendations. It was evaluated that the applications were generally "satisfactory".
While it was stated that certain progress had been made in the field of law enforcement, it was stated that progress remained quite limited in high-level executive duties.
The report stated that rules regarding lobbying activities should be established in line with international standards.
It was also stated that conflicts of interest should be reported in a timely manner and the provisions regarding the acceptance of gifts should be made clearer.
It was stated that the practice of publishing the names of ministerial advisors on the websites of ministries does not cover all ministries.
Providing impartiality training for Police and Gendarmerie personnel and preparing a Corruption Risk Analysis were shown as positive developments in the report.
In addition, it was noted that service-specific ethical rules should be established for the police and gendarmerie, transparency should be increased in senior appointments and promotions, and an independent external mechanism should be established to examine complaints against law enforcement forces.
GRECO also called for a framework for the protection of whistleblowers.
GRECO asked Turkey to allow the reports accepted at the general assembly to be published as soon as possible. The group also requested that the reports be translated into Turkish and made available to the public.
In order for the full texts of the reports to be published, the approval of the relevant country is required. If approval is not given, GRECO can publish summaries of the reports within the framework of procedural rules.
It was stated that although the 5th Round Evaluation Report on Türkiye was published on December 1, 2023, it has still not been made public.
GRECO called on Turkey to take more decisive steps to eliminate the problems on which the recommendations are based and to implement them.
