Following the Anti-Corruption and National Security policy forum, anti-corruption institutions and civil society actors came together to exchange good practices and practical solutions for joint action. At an expert-level workshop held in Sofia on 21 March 2023, participants discussed how to implement the policy ideas agreed upon in the Democratic Cohort on Anti-corruption Policies as a Guarantee for National Security, Stability, and Sovereignty under the Summit for Democracy.
The workshop focused on the available methodologies and policies for detecting and sanctioning illicit enrichment and provided recommendations on how asset declarations could be used more effectively as a corruption prevention tool both in Southeast Europe and globally. The panelists emphasized that collective action could be used to raise and quickly resolve alerts about suspected bribery or unfair business practices.
The workshop concluded with a discussion of the steps needed to upgrade existing anti-corruption policies and measures. The speakers highlighted the potential of public-private partnerships to support the development of new risk assessment methodologies, with a particular focus on strengthening internal anti-corruption measures in individual public bodies, ensuring public procurement integrity, and preventing illegal lobbying, as a way of safeguarding national security.