The Catalan government has adopted a resolution to develop a strategy to fight corruption and strengthen public integrity. The strategy will set out 25 specific actions and projects that will have a measurable impact, which will be implemented in the Administration of the Government of Catalonia and its public-sector entities within two years. 

 

The actions defined in the strategy document will focus mainly on areas such as public procurement, taxation, subsidies, the civil service, public management, restrictions on holding of multiple posts, conflicts of interest and lobbying, protection of whistle-blowers and anonymisation of “ethical mailboxes” (as a reporting channel), and a “framework for integrity”.

 

At a press conference following the meeting of the executive, Minister of the Presidency and government spokesperson Meritxell Budó said: “We believe this comprehensive approach is the best way to proceed. It involves a combination of anti-corruption legislation, including sanctions, and the application of frameworks for integrity, in which prevention and an ethical culture cover the public administration as a whole.” The meeting of the executive began earlier than usual today because of the need to adjust schedules so that members of the government can attend the trial under way in Spain’s Supreme Court, which is now in its last week.

 

The Secretariat for Transparency and Open Government of the Ministry for Foreign Action, Institutional Relations and Transparency will develop the strategy in collaboration with the General Secretariat of the Presidency, the General Secretariat of the Ministry of the Vice Presidency and of Economy and Finance, and the Secretariat for Administration and the Civil Service of the Ministry for Digital Policy and Public Administration.

 

The government is committed to finalising the strategy for fighting corruption and strengthening public integrity within six months. It will then be considered by the Executive Council. Once the strategy has been approved, the actions it sets out will have to be implemented within two years.