COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE EUROPEAN COUNCIL, THE COUNCIL, THE COURT OF JUSTICE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK and THE COURT OF AUDITORS on the review of the European Union under the Implementation Review Mechanism of the United Nation Conventions against Corruption (UNCAC)
Date: 2020-12-14
Institutions: Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs, European Commission
Subjects: UN convention, corruption, crime, international cooperation

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 14.12.2020  COM(2020) 793 final  COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE EUROPEAN COUNCIL, THE COUNCIL, THE COURT OF JUSTICE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK and THE COURT OF AUDITORS on the review of the European Union under the Implementation Review Mechanism of the United Nation Conventions against Corruption (UNCAC)                
 
 
I. Context and background 

The European Union is based on a set of common values, including respect for human rights, 
democracy, equality and the rule of law. Corruption undermines the functioning of the state 
and of public authorities at all levels and is a key enabler of organised crime. Effective anti-
corruption  frameworks,  transparency  and  integrity  in  the  exercise  of  state  power  can 
strengthen legal  systems  and trust  in  public authorities. This  Communication reinforces  and 
complements other EU instruments and the Commission’s efforts to fight corruption. As set 
out  in  the  Commission’s  first  rule  of  law  report  adopted  earlier  this  year,  the  fight  against 
corruption is essential for maintaining the rule of law and in view of its importance it is one of 
the four pillars of the report.1 A strong rule of law and anti-corruption culture is the result of 
the citizens’ trust that integrity is the norm and that compliance with the law is safeguarded. 

The EU has on many occasions underlined its commitment to the review process.2 Both the 
European Parliament and the Council have emphasised the need to step up the EU’s leading 
role  in  the  global  fight  against  corruption  and  to  take  forward  the  review  process  under  the 
United  Nations  Convention  against  Corruption  (UNCAC;  hereafter  ‘the  Convention’).  The 
European Parliament and the Council have specifically recalled the importance for the EU to 
fulfil the review obligation.3 

The  EU  became  a  member  to  the  Convention  in  2008. 4 This  is  the  most  comprehensive 
international  anti-corruption  treaty  both  in  terms  of  geographic  coverage  (187  parties)  and 
issues covered. All EU Member States are parties to the Convention.5 The EU has also played 
a major role in the adoption of the resolution on the fight against corruption adopted by the 
UN  General  Assembly  on  1  June  2020.  This  resolution  opened  the  way  for  the  Special 
Session  of  the  UN  General  Assembly  on  challenges  and  measures  to  prevent  and  combat 
corruption and strengthen international cooperation, planned for June 2021. 

The  Convention  is  also  the  only  legally  binding  universal  international  anti-corruption 
instrument.  It  covers  five  areas:  preventive  measures  (Chapter  II);  criminalisation  and  law 

1   COM(2020) 580 final. 
2   At the Eighth Conference of UNCAC States Parties in 2019, the Commission, speaking on behalf of the EU 
and its Member States, reaffirmed the EU’s commitment to the review process and pointed out that, as such a 
review would concern all EU institutions, preparatory work between the European Commission, the European 
Parliament  and  the  Council  has  started.  EU  opening  statement  at  the  Conference  of  States  Parties  to  the 
United Nations Convention against Corruption, Abu Dhabi, 16-20 December 2019, 
https://www.unodc.org/documents/treaties/UNCAC/COSP/session8/V2001911e.pdf, pp. 61-62.  

3   See e.g. 2019 European Parliament public hearing ‘Towards a common EU strategy to fight corruption and 
organized crime – strengthening instruments and enhancing cooperation between relevant actors’; European 
Parliament resolution of 10 July 2020 on protection of the European Union’s financial interests  - combating 
fraud - annual report 2018 (2019/2128(INI)) https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-8-2016-
0403_EN.html. The October2019 Justice and Home Affairs Council focused on the future of the fight against 
corruption  in  the  EU.  In  the Council,  in  a  discussion  on  EU  action  against  corruption  held  under  Finland’s 
Presidency in 2019, Member States sent a clear message that the EU institutions should be subject to the anti-
corruption  monitoring  mechanism.  EU  Action  against  Corruption,  Report  from  the  Finnish  Presidency 
(13630/19; https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-13630-2019-INIT/en/pdf, p. 4). 

4   Council  Decision  of  25  September  2008  on  the  conclusion,  on  behalf  of  the  European  Community,  of  the 

United Nations Convention against Corruption, 2008/801/EC, OJ L 287, 29.10.2008, p. 1. 

5   Also, the Union was granted observer status in the Council of Europe’s Group of States against Corruption 

(GRECO) in July 2019. 

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enforcement  (Chapter  III);  international  cooperation  (Chapter  IV);  asset  recovery  (Chapter 
V); and technical assistance and information exchange (Chapter VI). In the Convention, anti-
corruption  is  addressed  in  a  broad  sense  and  its  provisions  cover  many  different  forms  of 
corruption,  such  as  bribery,  trading  in  influence,  abuse  of  functions,  and  various  acts  of 
corruption  in  both  the  public  and  the  private  sector.  The  Convention  introduces  a  set  of 
standards, measures and rules that countries can apply to strengthen their legal and regulatory 
regimes to fight corruption. Its main aims are to strengthen measures in order to prevent and 
combat corruption more efficiently and effectively, promote the integrity, accountability and 
proper  management  of  public  affairs  and  public  property,  and  facilitate  and  support 
international cooperation and technical assistance against corruption. 

It is crucial to strengthen the authority of the EU in the fight against corruption and therefore 
to ensure that the EU’s pending obligations stemming from the Convention are addressed by 
the  time  of  the  Special  Session  of  the  UN  General  Assembly  (UNGASS).  This  means 
participation in the implementation review.6  

In November 2009, the Conference of the States Parties, the main decision-making body7 of 
the  Convention,  adopted  Resolution  3/1,  which  established  an  Implementation  Review 
Mechanism for the Convention. The EU supported the establishment of this  Implementation 
Review  Mechanism.8 According  to  Resolution  3/1,  States  parties  must  undergo  a  review  of 
the implementation of the Convention. The mechanism, based on a peer-review, results in an 
evaluation  assessing  how  each  States  party’s  rules  and  practices  comply  with  the 
Convention’s  principles,  objectives  and  requirements.  These  evaluations  help  identify 
deficiencies  in  national  anti-corruption  policies,  prompting  the  necessary  legislative, 
institutional and practical reforms.  

International agreements concluded by the EU are binding upon the institutions of the Union 
and  on  its  Member  States9 and  the  review  mechanism  established  under  this  Convention  is 
binding upon all the parties to the Convention. Therefore, the review obligation applies to the 
European  Union  as  well.  However,  the  unique  position  of  the  European  Union  as  the  only 
regional  economic  integration  organisation  that  is  a  party  to  the  Convention  adds  some 
complexity as regards the modalities of the EU’s participation in the exercise.10 

Under  Article  17  of  Treaty  on  European  Union,  the  Commission  exercises  coordinating, 
executive and management functions in implementing international agreements to which the 
Union  is  a  party  and  ensures  the  Union’s  external  representation,  and  therefore  carries  the 

6   All other parties to the Convention have launched their participation in the review; apart from the EU, only 
one other State party has not undergone review but had expressed reservations at the time of ratification. 
7   The Conference of the States Parties is the main decision-making body established under the UN Convention, 
and its subsidiary bodies, namely the Implementation Review Group, the Working Group on Asset Recovery, 
the  Working  Group  on  Prevention  and  the  Expert  Meeting  on  International  Cooperation.  Among  other 
substantive  and  technical  services,  it  prepares  background  papers;  receives,  translates  and  distributes 
documents,  reports  and  decisions;  interprets  speeches  made  at  the  meetings;  prepares  and  circulates  the 
records of the sessions; has the custody and proper preservation of the documents in the archives; and assists 
the bureau of the Conference in the performance of its functions. 

8   Through  a  series  of  Common  Positions  recorded  in  document  ST  15012/1/06  REV  1;  document  ST 

15233/1/07 REV 1; document ST 11452/2/09 REV 2. 

9   Article 216 (2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. 
10  Resolution 3/1 does not contain specific rules or procedures applicable for parties to the Convention that are 

not “states” as such. 

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responsibilities in steering the review process under the Convention with a view to ensuring 
that the Union is fulfilling its obligations under the Convention.  

This  Communication  therefore  puts  forward  the  Commission’s  approach  to  the  review 
process.  The Union as a whole is bound to implement the Convention and thus to submit to 
the review process which has been established by the Convention. This exercise, which is to 
be  coordinated  by  the  Commission,  will  require  the  involvement  of  all  relevant  Union 
institutions and possibly certain agencies or bodies, depending on the tasks conferred on them 
by the Treaties or by the Union’s legislation in the area of relevance for the Convention. Their 
involvement  should  be  governed  by  the  principle  of  the  administrative  autonomy  of  each 
institution, in matters relating to their respective operation.  

The Commission has analysed the implications stemming from the unique status as a party to 
the Convention of the EU as a regional economic integration organisation. In order to proceed 
with  the review, first  the declaration of  competence needs to  be updated to reflect  the legal 
consequences  of  the  entry  into  force  of  the  Treaty  of  Lisbon  (section  II  below).  On  the 
practical  modalities  of  the  review,  some  necessary  adaptations  would  need  to  be  defined  to 
allow the European Union to participate in the review (sections III, IV and V below). 

II. Update of the declaration of competence 

The  Convention  provides  that  the  instrument  of  ratification,  acceptance  or  approval  of  a 
regional  economic  integration  organisation  is  to  contain  a  declaration  on  the  extent  of  its 
competence.11 The Declaration concerning the competence of the European Community with 
regard  to  matters  governed  by  the  United  Nations  Convention  against  Corruption  duly 
notified to the Secretary-General of the United Nations at the time of the Union’s conclusion 
of  the  Convention. 12  The  Convention  also  provides  in  Article  67(3)  that  the  regional 
organisation concerned is to inform the depositary of any relevant change in the extent of its 
competence.13 

With  the  entry  into  force  of  the  Treaty  of  Lisbon,  the  scope  and  exercise  of  the  Union’s 
competence  have  changed  to  a  certain  degree.  For  example,  the  EU  acquired  new 
competences under Title V of the TFEU (articles 82 and 83 of the Treaty on the Functioning 
of  the  European  Union).  The  Secretary-General  of  the  United  Nations  must  therefore  be 
informed of these developments.14 

11  Based on Article 67(3) of the Convention. 
12  Annex to Council Decision 2008/801/EC. 
13  Article 67(3) of the Convention. 
14  Paragraph 4 of the Declaration of competence reads: ‘The scope and exercise of Community competence are, 
by  their  nature,  subject  to  continuous  development  and  the  Community  will  complete  or  amend  this 
declaration, if necessary, in accordance with Article 67(3) of the Convention.’ 

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Action 1: The Commission will take the necessary steps to inform the Secretary-General of 
the United Nations about relevant changes in the extent of the Union’s competence before 
the launch of the review. 

III. Launching the review of the EU under the Convention 

Each  party  is  reviewed  by  two  other  States  parties  to  the  Convention,  the  selection  of  the 
reviewing parties being done by drawing of lots.15 Each party must also act as a reviewer. The 
drawing  of  lots  to  select  the  reviewing  parties  can  be  done  at  any  of  the  meetings  of  the 
Implementation Review Group. The review is formally launched when the Secretariat of the 
Convention (UNODC) informs the party under review of the beginning of the conduct of the 
country review.16 Parties must also communicate a focal point to coordinate its participation 
in  the  review  as  well  as  notify  a  list  of  governmental  experts  for  the  purpose  of  the  review 
process (when the party acts as a reviewer to other parties17).  

The  Commission  considers  that  the  EU  should  announce  its  readiness  to  launch  the 
implementation  review  process  as  soon  as  possible  ahead  of  the  UN  General  Assembly 
Special  Session  in  2021.  In  accordance  to  Article  17  TEU,  the  Union’s  position  will  be 
expressed by the Commission. The Commission will also act as the focal point to coordinate 
the implementation review process for the Union and invites the other institutions to designate 
experts for when the EU would be called on to review other States parties.  

Action 2: The Commission considers that the EU should announce that it is ready for the 
launch of its implementation review process as soon as possible, ahead of the UN General 
Assembly Special Session in 2021 and will prepare the EU statement in this regard, after 
consulting the Council.  

The  Commission  will  act  as  the  EU  focal  point  for  the  EU’s  implementation  review 
process.  

The Commission will invite the other institutions to designate experts for the purpose of the 
review process concerning other parties. 

IV. Modalities and organisation of the EU review  

15  See  Terms  of  Reference  of  the  Mechanism  for  the  Review  of  Implementation  of  the  United  Nations 
Corruption, 

Convention 
https://www.unodc.org/documents/treaties/UNCAC/Publications/ReviewMechanism-
BasicDocuments/Mechanism_for_the_Review_of_Implementation_-_Basic_Documents_-_E.pdf. 

against 

16  Within one month after the drawing of the lots. See Section II of the Guidelines for governmental experts and 

the secretariat in the conduct of country reviews, 
https://www.unodc.org/documents/treaties/UNCAC/Publications/ReviewMechanism-
BasicDocuments/Mechanism_for_the_Review_of_Implementation_-_Basic_Documents_-_E.pdf.  

17  The Implementation Review Mechanism provides that each Party is to appoint up to 15 governmental experts 

for the purpose of the review process. These experts then act as reviewers on behalf of their party. 

4 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                           
 
In  2009,  the  Conference  of  the  States  Parties,  adopted  the  terms  of  reference  of  the 
Mechanism  for  the  Review  of  Implementation  of  the  Convention  and  created  the 
Implementation  Review  Group  to  supervise  the  review  process  under  the  authority  of  the 
Conference. Parties are assessed in accordance with the terms of reference of the Mechanism 
for  the  Review  of  Implementation.  A  model  timeframe  for  completing  the  review  has  been 
developed by the Secretariat.18 

1. Preparing the EU self-assessment  

For  each  cycle,  the  process  requires  the  party  under  review  to  draft  and  submit  a  self-
assessment, on the basis of which the review will be carried out.  

The self-assessment contains a description of the measures (programmes, legislative and non-
legislative measures, administrative acts) taken by that Party to comply with the requirements 
of the Convention in the areas under review, as well as an indication of the effectiveness of 
such  measures. 19 The  self-assessment  shall  essentially  concentrate  on  describing:  (i)  acts 
which the EU has adopted in the areas covered by the Convention and (ii) measures relevant 
to  the  Convention  that  apply  to  the  EU  institutions  and  their  staff.  When  referencing  the 
relevant  legal  acts,  the  self-assessment  should  include  a  brief  description  of  the  purpose  of 
each instrument, the date of entry into force, and any direct obligations on the EU institutions 
(reporting  obligations,  or  other  tasks  allocated  directly  to  the  institutions,  etc.).  Where 
available,  the  document  shall  include  examples  to  illustrate  the  effectiveness  of  measures 
listed in the self-assessment.  

The implementation review under the Convention takes place in two cycles: 

  Cycle 1 focuses on criminalisation and law enforcement (Chapter III) and international 
cooperation  (Chapters  IV)  and  will  include  reporting  on  a)  offences  and  law 
enforcement;  b)  protection  of  witnesses,  experts,  victims  and  whistleblowers;  c) 
consequences  of  acts  of  corruption;  d)  cooperation  and  within  and  between 
international organisations; e) cooperation of international organisations with the EU 
and Member States; and f) joint investigations. 

  Cycle 2 covers asset recovery (Chapter V) and prevention (Chapter II), which includes 

law enforcement and public procurement legislation.   

The review process would therefore start with Cycle 1, and then be followed by Cycle 2. 

The scope of the self-assessment would cover those areas that are directly relevant to the EU 
and its institutions (and staff), in respect of matters subject to the Convention, and depending 
on which Cycle was involved: such as preventive measures against corruption, international 
cooperation and asset recovery. 

18  https://www.unodc.org/documents/treaties/UNCAC/Review-

Mechanism/IRG_model_country_review_schedule.pdf.  Experience  has  shown  that  reviews  last  in  practice 
between 12-18 months for the first cycle and somewhat longer for the second cycle. 

19  In  general,  parties  are  encouraged  to  conduct  self-assessments  using  the  comprehensive  self-assessment 
checklist  developed  by  the  Secretariat  and  endorsed by  the  Conference  of  State  Parties  in  November  2009. 
However, this checklist (and the IT tool used for answering it)  are not  well adapted to the EU. As a result, 
contacts with the Secretariat have signalled full flexibility  on using a different format that is suitable for the 
EU. 

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The  EU  self-assessment  will  not  enter  into  questions  of  implementation  of  EU  law  by 
Member  States,  which  is  covered  by  their  own  review  processes,  but  rather  explain  the 
obligations on the EU institutions stemming from the Treaties and relevant EU legislation.  

As the Convention is binding on all EU institutions, the scope of the self-assessment cannot 
be limited to a single EU institution or a small subset of EU institutions. That does not mean, 
however, that each EU institution  must carry out a separate self-assessment.  The EU’s self-
assessment will cover horizontal rules, including common rules applicable to all institutions 
(such as the Staff Regulations and the jurisprudence of the Court of Justice). Concerning the 
areas where different institutions and bodies have put in place different – normally additional 
– rules, those institutions and bodies should set out  these rules in  the self-assessment.20 The 
review process  under Cycle 2 is of most relevance to  the internal  workings of different  EU 
institutions. 

Action 3: The Commission will prepare the EU self-assessment for each of the cycles, in 
close  coordination  with  all  EU  institutions  concerned.  All  institutions  concerned  need  to 
provide  timely  input  to  the  self-assessment,  and  will  determine  the  content  referring  to 
their own institution. 

2. Desk review and on-site visit 

Once the self-assessment has been submitted, the reviewing experts conduct a desk review of 
the  completed  self-assessment.  If  agreed  by  the  party  under  review,  in  the  spirit  of 
establishing a constructive dialogue, the desk review can be complemented with any further 
means  of  direct  dialogue,  such  as  a  country  visit  or  a  joint  meeting  at  the  United  Nations 
Office in  Vienna. The on-site visit  consists of meetings  held  between experts designated by 
the reviewing parties and experts of the reviewed party, with the assistance of the secretariat. 
Stakeholders  are  encouraged  to  participate  at  these  visits,  which  held  at  expert  level.  The 
purpose  of  these  meetings  is  to  clarify  certain  aspects  of  the  submitted  answer  and  gather 
additional information as need be. As foreseen by the Terms of Reference of the mechanism, 
the  reviewing  States  parties  and  the  secretariat  shall  maintain  the  confidentiality  of  all 
information obtained in the course of, or used in, the country review process. 

The Commission’s approach to the review process is that it should be conducted transparently 
and with the involvement of all relevant stakeholders. Civil society participation is crucial for 
all anti-corruption efforts. The EU’s long-standing position has been that States parties to the 
Convention  should  make  optimal  use  of  all  available  information  and  expertise,  including 
from civil society. Constructive dialogue between States Parties and civil society will improve 
the  impact  and  implementation  of  the  convention.  The  EU  has  called  for  an  effective  civil 
society  involvement  in  review  cycle  as  well  as  in  the  Conference  of  States  Parties  and  its 
working groups. 

20  For Cycle 1, it appears that almost all aspects are matters for the EU on a horizontal level. For Cycle 2, while 
chapter II concerns all institutions Chapter III and IV are more specific and only concern a limited number of 
institutions, offices or bodies as (mainly the Commission, EPPO, Europol, Eurojust) and Chapter V: mainly 
Commission, EPPO, Europol, Eurojust, European Central Bank, future Euro Financial Investigation Unit. 

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Action 4: The Commission will coordinate with the other institutions the input to the self-
assessment check list and the organisation of the onsite visit related to the review, making 
optimal use of all available information and expertise, including from civil society and will 
seek to include civil society in the review.  

If  agreed,  an  on-site  visit  could  be  organised  in  Brussels  with  meetings  at  the  main 
institutions. 

3. Publication of the evaluation report and general transparency commitments 

At the end of the review, a review report is drafted by the secretariat of the Convention with 
the support of the reviewing States parties, based on contributions from the reviewers and in 
close  cooperation  and  coordination  with  the  Party  under  review.  The  final  content  of  the 
report  is  decided  by  consensus  between  the  reviewers  and  the  Party  under  review.  The  full 
report  remains  confidential  unless  the  Party  under  review  agrees  to  publish  it,  while  the 
executive summary is always published. Some parties choose to publish their self-assessment 
checklist,  the  full  country  report,  and/or  information  provided  as  a  follow-up  to  the  review. 
The Commission will also seek the agreement of the other institutions on the text of the report 
and  on  its  publication.  The  publication  of  the  full  report  has  been  highlighted  as  good 
transparency practice. 

The  United  Nations  Convention  against  Corruption  Coalition 21  initiated  a  Transparency 
Pledge  in  2014.  The  Pledge  consists  of  six  transparency  principles.22 Several  EU  Member 
States are signatories.23 The Commission will support the EU adherence to the Transparency 
Pledge. This transparency pledge envisaged that the full report will be published.  

Action 5: The Commission will consult in due course the other institutions with regard to 
the publication of the full review report and the self-assessment report.  

VI. Conclusion 

By the present Communication, the Commission informs all EU institutions of its intention to 
launch the review process as soon as possible, following consultations with the institutions in 
the spirit of loyal  cooperation. The Commission  intends to  make swift progress  in  fulfilling 
the legal obligations of the Union under the Convention with the aim to launch the review as 
soon as possible ahead of the UNGASS 2021.  

21  The  United  Nations  Convention  against  Corruption  Coalition  global  network  of  over  350  civil  society 
organisations in over 100 countries, committed to promoting the ratification, implementation and monitoring 
of the Convention. 

22  https://uncaccoalition.org/uncac-review/transparency-

pledge/#:~:text=The%20UNCAC%20Coalition%20is%20seeking,in%20the%20UNCAC%20review%20mec
hanism. 

23  Austria,  Belgium,  Bulgaria,  Cyprus,  Estonia,  France,  Germany,  Italy,  Latvia,  Poland,  Portugal,  Slovakia, 

Slovenia, Spain, Sweden. 

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This  Communication  sets  out  the  approach  to  conduct  the  necessary  steps  in  the  review 
process, in full respect of the principle of sincere cooperation and administrative autonomy of 
the institutions. The Commission invites the EU institutions to fully participate and cooperate 
at all stages of the process and in a timely fashion.  

8