Institute Alternative’s proposals for improving the Government’s mid-term work programme mainly focus on strengthening legal and practical guarantees for merit-based employment, the need for an overall analysis of the current inspection system, the application of anti-corruption mechanisms in the field of public procurement, and legislative changes regarding classified information.
The Government’s mid-term work programme, which was open for public discussion until March 9th, leaves too much room for interpretation regarding the objectives of individual proposed activities, despite efforts to define certain indicators of success at a general level.
We particularly recognise that certain activities, announced without previous transparency and prior analysis, such as the abolition of the Administration for Inspection Affairs alongside numerous legislative changes aimed at reorganising inspection supervision, are not reflected in the Draft Programme. We believe it is necessary to clarify the Government’s further plans regarding this area, which is not evident from the document, which only contains previously planned amendments to the Law on Inspection Supervision, submitted to the parliamentary procedure by previous governments.
Furthermore, the long-awaited Anti-Corruption Strategy is not included in the Draft Programme at all, despite the recent establishment of the National Council for the Fight against Corruption by the Government, with the aim of preparing this Strategy among other things. We believe that the document should clearly state the reasons and objectives for adopting the Strategy, especially in the context of the announced receipt of reports on the fulfillment of interim benchmarks for Chapters 23 and 24.
In addition to this general overview, in our comments, we have pointed out the need for amendments to the Labour Law that would go beyond the currently planned harmonisation with EU directives and standards, aiming to address the priority challenges and establish a merit-based employment system in the public sector. Among other things, the amendments should establish a rule of public advertisement; prescribe the duration of public advertisements for a minimum of 15 days; enable individuals seeking employment in the public sector to initiate proceedings or disputes if they believe their rights have been violated, without the restrictions currently existing in the Labour Law, which only apply to certain prohibited behaviours.
Moreover, regarding the planned amendments to the Law on Civil Servants and State Employees, we believe that their scope should be clarified and supplemented. Although this Law has been subject to continuous criticism from both the European Commission and the non-governmental sector, the Draft Programme does not contain clear reasons nor does it explain the planned scope of amendments, which are envisaged until the fourth quarter of 2024. A working group, of which a representative of Institute Alternative is a part, was formed over a year ago, but members were informed that improvements to regulations in this area would be made gradually, starting with urgent amendments insisted upon by the European Commission to tighten employment conditions, followed by broader changes, which would involve the introduction of competency frameworks for all levels of civil service and other more demanding changes. However, the current justification for activities does not recognise this gradual approach, thus confusing the Government’s approach to this important area.
Due to the importance of providing clear guidelines for further normative activities in this area, we have provided concrete proposals, based on previously conducted detailed analyses and risk assessments of corruption in public sector employment, the results of which and an overview of key challenges are available at the following link: https://mapa-rizika.me.
We have proposed to the Government to conduct an analysis of the effectiveness of inspections within ministries and the Administration for Inspection Affairs, according to the same parameters. Only in this way can an informed approach be taken to any potential reorganisation of inspections. Since the last comprehensive reform of inspections in 2011, the Government has attempted several times to assess the effectiveness of the current model, but with an approach that has been plagued by various methodological shortcomings, aimed at justifying the current balance of power and the interest of certain ministries in bringing inspections back under their auspices.
Considering that according to the latest report on public procurement, to strengthen anti-corruption tools in the field of public procurement, it is planned to link the e-procurement system with the electronic system of the Agency for Prevention of Corruption, we believe it is important for the Government to prepare information on the progress of this process and the necessary prerequisites for the integration of these systems.
We have also reminded of an earlier recommendation that through the Law on Classified Information, government bodies commit to preparing and publishing information on the number of documents, or information, classified within a certain period.
Institute Alternative has been monitoring the work of the Parliament and the Security and Defence Committee for years, so this was an opportunity to present some of our recommendations, such as the regular review of reports on the implementation of secret surveillance measures, and a control hearing on the functionality of the system for secure automatic data exchange aimed at combating crime.
Additionally, we stressed the need for the Committee to hold a consultative hearing on the personnel policy of the Police Directorate, particularly considering that the Ministry of Interior has not prepared a Personnel Plan for the past three years, and projections regarding the number of officers eligible for retirement are not publicly available. This hearing is crucial because personnel management in the Police Directorate is part of two separate strategic documents: the “Police Directorate Development Strategy for the period 2023-2026” and the “Human Resources Management Strategy in the Police Directorate 2019-2024.” The Committee should review the report on the implementation of activities from these strategies for the previous year and assess to what extent the measures proposed by the Government align with the earlier strategic priorities.