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Integrity Pacts – Civil Control Mechanism for Safeguarding EU Funds

Timeline - Integrity Pacts – Civil Control Mechanism for Safeguarding EU Funds

Transparency International and DG Regio launch a pilot project to work towards ensuring clean contracting in the European Structural and Investment Funds.

Transparency International and DG Regio launch two calls for expression of interest from contacting authorities and civil society organisations interested in piloting integrity pacts in projects co-financed by the European Structural and Investment Fund, 17 applicants are shortlisted.

The pilot project involving monitoring of 17 public procurement projects across 11 countries gets underway.

Project kick-off meeting in Berlin with project partners.

Project kick-off meeting in Berlin with project partners.

Integrity Pacts EU Partner Event in Brussels with Managing and Contracting Authorities involved in the project.

Civil society monitors meet in Vilnius to discuss progress and take stock.

Civil society monitors submit their reports covering the period January to June 2017.

All project partners including contracting authorities, government officials and winning bidders meet in Bucharest to take stock of the project at the halfway point. Read our analysis here.

6 additional integrity pacts have been signed in Lithuania, Romania, Italy.

Civil society monitors submit their reports covering the period July to December 2017.

Civil society monitors submit their reports covering the period January to June 2018.

All project partners, contracting authorities, government officials, private sector representatives and representatives from the European Commission meet in Brussels to share lessons learned and look to the future.

3 final integrity pacts have been signed in Greece, Portugal and Romania.

Civil society monitors submit their reports covering the period July-December 2018.

The Integrity Pacts EU project receives two important recognitions. The initiative is awarded the European Ombudsman’s Award for Good Administration 2019 in the category “Excellence in open administration.” During the G20 Summit in Osaka, the G20 Compendium of Good Practices for Promoting Integrity and Transparency in Infrastructure Development is published, which features integrity pacts as an effective collaborative approach to assessing and mitigating the risk of corruption in infrastructure development.

Civil society monitors submit their reports covering the period January to June 2019.

Civil society monitors meet in Brussels to discuss progress and take stock.
Integrity pacts are showcased at the European Week of Regions and Cities. Integrity Pacts EU partners held two sessions highlighting how the European cities and regions benefit when governments, companies and citizens commit to clean contracting.

The Integrity Pacts EU team shares experience and achievements in engaging affected communities in the monitoring of public spending at the Citizen Engagement Festival organised by the Joint Research Centre in Brussels.

DG REGIO and Transparency International sign the extension of the IP project until December 2021. In 2019, three IPs concluded: Czech Republic; Latvia; Lombardy, Italy.

Integrity pacts are showcased at the DG REGIO high-level conference “Engaging citizens for good governance in Cohesion Policy”. The IP project is featured in the Economist Intelligence Unit publication “The future of public spending: Why the way we spend is critical to the Sustainable Development Goals.”

Civil society monitors submit their reports covering the period July to December 2019.

Civil society monitors meet online to discuss progress and take stock.

Integrity pacts are mentioned as a good practice in UNODC’s “Set of non-binding recommendations and conclusions based on lessons learned regarding the implementation of chapters III and IV of the United Nations Convention against Corruption. Recommendations on the use of IPs to capture human rights aspects are included in the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights report “Connecting the business and human rights and anti-corruption agendas”.

Civil society monitors submit their reports covering the period January to June 2020.

Integrity Pacts EU project hosts the participatory lab “Join the Civic Mapathon” at the European Week of Regions and Cities, with integrity pacts prominently featured in the session “Anti-fraud strategies and the regions. The important role the regions can play in the fight against fraud and corruption, in particular in the context of crises.” Watch the recordings here and here.

27 civil society organisations including Transparency International’s EU chapters and local partners involved in the IP projects signed a letter to EU leaders asking to toughen anti-corruption measures in the next round of EU financing.

The IP project participates in the 19th International Anti-Corruption Conference (IACC), hosting a session on the role of clean contracting in pandemic recovery. The video recording is available here.

Civil society monitors submit their reports covering the period July to December 2020.

The lessons learned from the IP project are presented at the European Economic and Social Committee’s hearing on the fundamental rights and rule of law aspects of the post-COVID-19 recovery.

The Integrity Pacts EU Strategic Brief is published and provides a hands-on guide to help EU authorities embed integrity pacts in their programmes in order to safeguard strategic investments under the Multiannual Financial Framework 2021-2027 and recovery funds.

The Tender Defender card game is launched in English and Italian languages, aiming to help civil society groups, journalists, activists, and others learn about public procurement and identify corruption risks that may arise.

Project partners engage in national advocacy activities for the inclusion of integrity pacts in the 2021-2027 EU programming period.

Integrity pacts are featured in two sessions at the European Week of Regions and Cities:

Project partners organise a series of national closing events in the participating EU member states.

The Practical guide to civic monitoring of public contracting projects is published, providing guidelines on advocating for, setting up, and implementing integrity pacts.

The final digital conference is held, bringing together hundreds of participants to discuss the experience of integrity pacts in the EU and the tool’s future on the continent and beyond.

The booklet Monitoring public contracting: Experience from 18 integrity pacts in the EU is published, setting out key facts, figures and achievements from the integrity pacts in the EU between 2016 and 2021.