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- Ελληνικά
The President of the Republic Mr.Nicos Christodoulides chaired a meeting of the Council of Ministers at the Presidential Palace.
After the meeting, Deputy Government Spokesman Mr.Yiannis Antoniou said: "The Council of Ministers, which met today under the presidency of the President of the Republic, decided to approve the establishment of a Commission, under the supervision of the Deputy Minister to the President, to thoroughly study and monitor the progress of the implementation of Greco's recommendations concerning the Government, namely the highest executive functions, as they emerged during the fifth round of evaluation, entitled 'Prevention of corruption and promotion of integrity in central governments (highest executive functions) and law enforcement bodies'.
This Commission will be in collaboration with all implementing agencies involved and will regularly report to the Council of Ministers on the progress of their implementation. Where appropriate, it will be able to recommend to the Council of Ministers any necessary actions to ensure timely and optimal compliance with these recommendations.
The Council of Ministers has approved the composition of the Committee consisting of. The Head of the Cyprus Delegation to Greco.
ii. a representative of the Presidency, as proposed by the Deputy Minister to the President.
iii. a representative of the Ministry of Justice and Public Order, as proposed by the competent Minister.
iv. A representative of the Anti-Corruption Authority, on the recommendation of the Anti-Corruption Authority through the Transparency Commissioner.
v. A representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Council of Ministers authorized the Minister of Justice and Public Order to monitor, in cooperation with the Chief of Police, the implementation of the recommendations of the Greco Commission relating exclusively to the Law Enforcement Bodies and, to this end, to take all necessary steps for the best possible compliance, informing the Council of Ministers on the progress of their implementation.
The Council of Ministers also adopted the adoption of the Code of Conduct for members of the Government. The General Accounting Office, the Directors General of the Ministries/Departments and the Head of Administration of the Presidency will be informed accordingly for their own actions with regard to the provisions of the Code on the procedure for accepting gifts to members of the Government."
He added: "The Code of Conduct has been prepared on the instructions of the President of the Republic by the Commissioner for Legislation, while the suggestions and views of the Cyprus Delegation to the Greco Commission have been taken into account in its drafting. The new Code of Conduct replaces the previous Code of Conduct and its adoption constitutes the implementation of a specific policy of the Governance Programme.
In particular, the Code of Conduct, inter alia.
Defines 'conflict of interest' for a member of the Government or in relation to a person who is 'associated' with it.
[C] Regulates the acceptance of gifts and hospitality by members of the Government.
[D] Introduces, for purposes of best possible implementation, a system of adequate monitoring and compliance with the provisions of the Code, with the possibility of action being taken in the event of a breach and depending on the seriousness of the breach.
(e) Provides for the appointment of an independent Ethics Adviser to act in an advisory capacity to the President of the Republic and members of the Government.
We believe that this Code is an important step towards good governance and any need for its revision, provided that this arises through its empirical application, will be duly evaluated to ensure its further development and effectiveness."
Asked what other than gifts is mentioned in the Code of Conduct, Mr. Antoniou said: "It sets a specific amount up to which a gift that a member of the Government may receive may be up to and essentially sets the limits and makes specific reference to what is a gift and the manner in which that gift is obtained."
(PM/AF/SX)
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