The recent anti-corruption law aimed to address issues of bribery in the Greek public sector, is a “major step forward” for the country, according to the Council of Europe. However, the institution is questioning whether the law will live up to expectations in regards to making party funding more transparent. According to the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO), the organization established by the Council of Europe to monitor States’ compliance with the organisation’s anti-corruption standards, the Greek anti-corruption law creates “an entirely new and more robust legal framework, which brings together – for the first time – all relevant provisions on bribery and trading influence within the penal code.” However, GRECO also commented that the Greek government opted not to abolish the statute of limitations regarding the prosecution of former and current members of the Greek government. Furthermore, there has been little progress in creating new laws for political party funding, and the Council of Europe noted that “Greece has failed to submit sufficient information regarding the relevant bill that was presented at the Parliament.” “It is too early to tell to what extent the new bill for funding of political parties will meet GRECO’s recommendations, but we are certainly monitoring developments carefully,” said Council of Europe spokesman Panos Kakaviatos.
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