The National Anticorruption Center (NAC) made a clarification following press reports that the National Anticorruption Integrity Strategy for 2017-2020 does not lay emphasis where it should, namely on justice, recovery of assets, convictions and others and that the Center targets civil society and the mass media.

NAC vice director Cristina Tarna told a news conference that the information appeared after the Center last week held a working meeting with representatives of NGOs to discuss proposals to include a new pillar in the strategy, besides the existing seven basic pillars, namely “Civil society and the mass media”. Most of the NGOs that became involved in discussions argued against. Thus, on February 21, the NAC confirmed that it withdrew Pillar 8.

“A part of the NGOs accept as normal their involvement political activities, the political affiliation of members of administrative bodies, the public support of election runners and donations on the part of parties. According to them, the Law on Public Associations does not clearly ban such situations. Moreover, according to the NGOs that support this position, they are engaged in the working out of a new law on nongovernmental organizations that will regulate all the aforementioned aspects. Three years ago, a similar position wasn’t considered acceptable by civil society,” stated Cristina Tarna.

She also said that even if the NGOs contributed to the improvement of the integrity standards in the public sector, most of these do not meet the ethics and integrity norms. Similar problems exist at media outlets whose editorial policy is decided by owners and effective beneficiaries without the public knowing each time the connections with the political and business communities.

According to Cristina Tarna, the draft National Anticorruption Integrity Strategy for 2017-2020 was worked out based on an international methodology whose efficiency was examined in 70 states by Transparency International.

The NAC vice director said that despite the speculations, the Center continues to consider that the mass media and civil society should be involved in the objective and impartial monitoring of the future strategy and the public discussion of the risks associated with the politicization of SCOs as part of the promotion of a new law on NGOs.