Filenews 9 June 2025 - by Eleftheria Paizanou
In Cyprus, as well as eight other European countries, the Anti-Corruption Authority is not operationally and financially independent.
Specifically, in our country, the Independent Anti-Corruption Authority is part of the state budget and its staff is not appointed by the Authority, but by the Public Service, which according to the law is the competent authority for all public servants.
A survey conducted by the Parliament's Research, Studies and Publications Service, at the request of the members of the Parliamentary Committee on Legal Affairs who asked to be informed about the current legal framework in other European Union (EU) states, showed that, apart from Cyprus, the corresponding authorities in Austria, Belgium and Germany do not enjoy operational or financial independence. in Estonia, Croatia, Luxembourg, Poland and Finland.
Data in the Cypriot Parliament was forwarded by 23 EU countries. According to the analysis of the data, the operational and financial independence of the anti-corruption authorities is enjoyed by the corresponding authorities in Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Hungary, Portugal, Slovenia and Sweden.
However, in Hungary the Authority's budget is part of the State budget which it prepares and its reduction requires its consent.
Different models
In addition, in four other countries, anti-corruption agencies have operational but not financial independence.
These are Spain, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Romania and Slovakia. Of course, there are also cases of other countries that apply a different model.
For example, in France the High Authority for Transparency in Public Life is an independent authority, while the French Anti-Corruption Office reports to the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of the Budget, but does not receive orders from them.
In Latvia, the competent office is supervised by the Prime Minister, but retains operational independence with regard to specific articles of the law regulating its operation.
Legal status
In Cyprus, the Anti-Corruption Authority is an independent authority without legal personality. In addition, ten other countries, such as Austria, Greece, Estonia, Italy, Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovenia, have a central anti-corruption agency, while the remaining countries adopt multi-agency cooperation models.
Anonymous complaints
Meanwhile in Cyprus, according to the legal framework, the Independent Anti-Corruption Authority grants the right to submit anonymous complaints about acts of corruption.
Also in France, Greece, Estonia, Spain, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Hungary, Portugal, Slovenia and Sweden, anonymous complaints are allowed to be lodged either through special provisions or through practical application of existing institutions.
In Germany, despite the divergences between the Länder, most competent authorities have mechanisms for submitting anonymous complaints either via an online system or via a dedicated telephone line.
On the other hand, in Belgium, Bulgaria and Romania, the legislation does not allow anonymous complaints to be submitted.
Special cases
According to the study, there are also special cases for the submission of anonymous complaints.
In Austria, the law provides for the right to submit anonymous complaints, but in some cases the identity of the complainant is required.
In Croatia, depending on the method of lodging the complaint, the person lodging the complaint may remain anonymous.
In Luxembourg, the right to lodge anonymous complaints is not granted by law, but there are mechanisms for people who make a bona fide complaint.
In Poland, although the legislation does not explicitly provide for anonymous complaints, information on corruption issues can be provided via a dedicated telephone line and e-mail.
In Slovakia, the law allows anonymous complaints to be submitted only in cases where they are submitted to the Office for the Protection of Whistleblowers.
Finally, in Finland, the legislation allows the same anti-corruption agencies to determine whether to accept anonymous complaints.
However, anonymous complaints may not be submitted to the Police, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration and the Chancellor of Justice.
