Nov62023

The AVAF participates in the Cáceres Provincial Council in the INAP decentralized course on the impact of Law 2/2023 on small and medium-sized local entities

#AVAFTraining

Caceres. – November 6, 2023

The work and experience of the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency has been present in the course “Reporting channels at the local level: proposals, difficulties and solutions for the application of the Law regulating the protection of people who report regulatory infractions” organized by the Provincial Council of Cáceres and the National Institute of Public Administration.

Pilar Moreno García, training technician at the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency, gave the first of the sessions, on November 6, where she presented a global approach to international, European and state policies in the fight against corruption and the most outstanding issues of the new Law 2/2023, of February 20, regulating the protection of people who report regulatory infractions and the fight against corruption

The difficulties of applying Law 2/2023 and the proposals for compliance in small and medium-sized local entities were also developed, along with the impact of the personal data protection regulations on the application of the new Law.

Integrity systems, which need to be implemented in small and medium-sized local entities, were other issues addressed throughout the session, along with a checklist to assess the degree of compliance with the integrity strategy in small and medium-sized local entities.

In the 5-hour session held in the Assembly Hall of the Pintores Building of the Provincial Council of Cáceres, in the city of Extremadura, the workshop on conflicts of interest that is regularly carried out by the Training Service of the AVAF.

The training aroused great interest among the more than 60 attendees and proof of this was the large number of questions asked throughout the session, among which those related to the reality of small and medium-sized local entities for compliance with the law and the system stand out of integrity.

The approval of Law 2/2023 and the obligations it entails for small and medium-sized local entities requires training on it for public employees who provide their services in municipalities with up to 20,000 inhabitants.

With the aim of approximating the new reality for local entities with smaller populations in terms of protection of informants, internal information systems and promotion of integrity among public employees who provide services in small and medium-sized local entities, the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency has participated in this 26-hour course.

Nov32023

The AVAF participates in the International Congress of land use to make a city of the UV

#AVAFPrevention

Valencia.- November 3, 2023

The abuse of urban planning as a source of local financing in terms of public integrity was the communication presented by Irene Bravo Rey, head of the Prevention Service and Jorge Ciganda Teruel, technician of the Prevention Service of the AVAF, International Congress on land uses to make a city of the University of Valencia.

In addition to the attendees representing the AVAF, professors, university professors, specialized technicians and students interested in the subject participated in the Congress, held at the Faculty of Law, on November 2 and 3, 2023.

On Friday, November 3, at 1:00 p.m., the presentation of the communication presented by the staff of the AVAF Prevention Service took place, selected by the organizing committee, which was followed by 70 people both in person and online.

The aforementioned communication details that a local public administration or instrumental public sector entity that, with powers or participation in the city creation process, looks the other way and postpones compliance with obligations related to public integrity frameworks will be opening the doors to practices in their public housing policies or economic activities based on private interests. Consequently, it would be directly colliding with the constitutional principles of good administration: objectivity, impartiality, effectiveness, efficiency, legality, among others.

Some of these subjective, partial practices or those derived from undetected or uncontrolled conflicts of interest lead, for example, to “a la carte” tertiary use locations following the interests of private companies. And, in the same way, they result in the creation of ghettos that do not respond to sustainable planning criteria, or land reserves for certain industrial estates or projects. Which, together with the controversial figure of expropriation by operation of law, has put the public accounts of many Valencian municipalities in check.

“The abuse of urban planning as a source of local financing. In terms of public integrity” will be the subject of development in the next General Recommendation of the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency.

Nov32023

The Agency participates in the EPAC/EACN General Assembly in Dublin with the participation of more than 100 anti-corruption institutions from 30 countries

Dublin, 3 November 2023 –  The 22nd Annual Conference and General Assembly of the European Anti-Corruption Partners (EPAC) and the European Anti-Corruption Contact Point Network (EACN) took place in Dublin on 2 and 3 December. Among the highlights of the conference was the adoption of the Dublin Declaration and the election of Linas Pernavas, Director of the Lithuanian Special Investigation Service (STT), as the new Chair of the EPAC/EACN Board, while the other members of the Board were re-elected for a second term.

The EPAC/EACN conference, held for the first time in Ireland, was organised by the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission, the Police Authority, the Garda Inspectorate and the Irish Department of Justice and was attended by more than 200 representatives from more than 100 institutions from 30 different countries and jurisdictions.

Members of the European Commission, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (EUROPOL), the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) and national anti-corruption institutions shared their knowledge and experience in different areas of anti-corruption.

This year’s Conference focused on four main themes: whistleblowing, gender-based violence committed by state actors, safeguarding the EU’s financial interests, and how to address new challenges arising in corruption investigations.

The conference also included the presentation of the EPAC/EACN award for the most innovative anti-corruption initiative, which was awarded this year to the Polish Central Anti-Corruption Office for its ‘ABC Integrity’ project.

 

At the general assembly, the following members of the EPAC/EACN Board of Directors were elected for a period of 2 years, consisting of:

Chairman: Linas PERNAVAS, Director of the Special Investigation Service (STT), Lithuania

Vice-President (Anti-Corruption Area): Ernst SCHMID, Head of Department, Federal Anti-Corruption Office (BAK), Austria

Deputy Vice-President (Anti-Corruption Area): Traian Mihăiţă BÂRLICI, Head of the Prevention Directorate, Directorate-General Anti-Corruption (DGA), Romania

Vice-President (Police Supervision Area): Lucile ROLLAND, Deputy Head of the General Inspectorate of the French National Police (IGPN), France

Deputy Vice-President (Police Oversight): Hugh HUME, Commissioner of the Garda Ombudsman Irish Síochána (GSOC), Ireland

In addition, the General Assembly adopted the Dublin Declaration as the outcome document of the conference. This Statement will be widely disseminated by EPAC/EACN members in their respective countries and submitted to the relevant EU institutions and bodies, the Council of Europe’s GRECO, the OECD’s WGB and the UNODC.

The General Assembly also approved five new members as part of the two networks, bringing to 109 the total number of police oversight and anti-corruption bodies from 38 European countries that are members of EPAC and/or EACN. The new members are the Georgia Anti-Corruption Bureau; the Georgian Special Investigation Service; the Hungarian Integrity Authority; the Andalusian Anti-Fraud Office of Spain and the Asset Management and Recovery Agency of Ukraine

Click here to access the Dublin Declaration.