Majority of GRECO anti-corruption recommendations implemented by Malta in 2017

VALLETTA, May 3 (Xinhua) -- Malta had implemented the vast majority of recommendations made by the Council of Europe's anti-corruption monitoring body, Group of States Against Corruption (GRECO), according to the organization's 2017 activity report.

On Thursday, GRECO published its annual review providing an account of the state of corruption in Europe and the United States. The review assesses progress made in relation to members of parliament, the judiciary and countries' prosecutors.

According to the report, during 2017, Malta implemented all three recommendations regarding its prosecutors, while one of the three recommendations relating to the judiciary was implemented with a further two that were partially implemented.

No recommendations made to Members of Parliament (MPs) were fully implemented. Two out of three were partially implemented, with another recommendation having not been addressed by Malta.

GRECO president Marin Mrcela said the key trend observed was a tendency for member states to rely to heavily on the "repressive aspects of fighting corruption" while underestimating preventative mechanisms.

Moreover, one in five GRECO recommendations pointed to the need for greater supervision and enforcement of laws which are already in place. It was also concerning that in some countries legal changes have been implemented which go against previously enacted reforms, Mrcela said.

Overall, GRECO found that parliamentarians received a higher overall number of recommendations than prosecutors and the judiciary, noting that this was consistent with a credibility deficit among the political class.

They also implemented the lowest number of recommendations with 25.4 percent having been fully implemented, compared with 42.5 percent for judges and 54 percent for prosecutors.

GRECO has 49 members -- 48 European states plus the United States. Enditem