Conclusions and recommendations from the IV workshop of the EMINS Policy Forum:

How to fight CORRUPTION?

1. The governments of the Republic of Serbia and Federal Republic of Yugoslavia are called to launch a mass campaign against corruption, despite difficult political and economic situation in the country and its most unfavorable international position. We have in mind that local authorities in many towns of Serbia have already proved their ability to successfully tackle the issue of mass corruption.
2. There are non-governmental organizations in Yugoslavia and abroad that are ready to help local authorities by providing technical support, training, exchange of experience, models of good practice and assistance in launching pilot programs for fighting corruption. As an illustrative example of a good model and encouragement to setting up a national program and an anti-corruption department, one should quote Nis, where local authorities have taken a number of steps to fight corruption.
3. A domestic lobby (a coalition of local authorities, non-governmental organizations, independent media and private sector representatives), able to impose corruption as a major political issue should be set up.
4. State regulations and administrative measures could make public purchases – one of main areas of corruption – transparent. Good examples (pilot projects and towns) could promote advantages of effectual practice in terms of efficient management and economic rationality.
5. It is necessary to get prepared for the period of reconstruction and development in the country and the region of South Eastern Europe. This necessitates individual training (experts, public servants, consultants), as well as that of professional organizations and public institutions, to be started in the soonest possible while.
6. This meeting invites the international non-governmental organization, Transparency International, to cooperate in the following domains: communication on regular basis, mutual information and expert help. We would very much appreciate Transparency International’s support to include representatives from Serbia and Yugoslavia - particularly representatives from local authorities, non-governmental organizations and independent expert group, actively involved in fighting corruption - in the various forms of its cooperation with international financial organizations, the OECD, the European Union, the Stability Pact, etc. We also expect assistance by our neighbors, Bulgaria in the first place, which has already achieved significant results in corruption fighting.
7. This gathering is a small, but an indispensable first step in identifying the issue of corruption and assessing the society’s capacity to face and tackle it. The discussion has shown mutual readiness to affirm new values, new mechanisms and institutions, and new coalitions, which should speed up changes in Serbia and Yugoslavia, and the country’s integration – as a full-fledged member - into all regional and European projects that are crucial for its stability and development.

Belgrade, December 6, 1999