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Description
Strengthening integrity in public life is more than a legal goal — it’s essential to democratic trust. This project addressed gaps in how Greece’s public sector prevents and manages conflicts of interest. Despite strong legislation like Law 4622/2019 on transparency and good governance, public institutions lacked consistent tools and practices to guide ethical decisions. Officials often faced unclear expectations, while existing rules were fragmented and difficult to apply in real-world situations.
To meet this challenge, the National Transparency Authority (NTA) in partnership with the OECD, launched a project to build a modern, practical framework for integrity across government. It mapped international best practices, reviewed national legislation, and proposed legal reforms tailored to the Greek context. A national survey captured the views and needs of public officials, while outreach efforts sparked broad discussion on ethical standards and accountability.
A major contibution was the creation of 16 short, video-based training modules for civil servants. These materials covered core principles of professional ethics, everyday dilemmas, and how to respond to potential conflicts of interest. The project also held a national integrity conference that brought together over 100 experts, public officials, and civil society actors to promote awareness and share solutions. By promoting a common language around integrity, the project benefits civil servants, public managers, and ultimately citizens, who expect fair and impartial public decisions. It creates a foundation for consistent rules, clearer guidance, and long-term institutional resilience.
The OECD added significant value as an International Partner, ensuring that tools and proposals reflected international standards and that Greece’s reforms were informed by global learning. This cooperation helped anchor the project in both national priorities and European values.
Summary of project results
Public trust in institutions depends on integrity — yet Greece as many other countries, faced challenges in this area. Key frameworks to detect and prevent conflicts of interest were underdeveloped or fragmented, and public officials often lacked accessible guidance or training to navigate ethical dilemmas in day-to-day governance. Despite international obligations and recommendations from bodies such as GRECO and the OECD, practical tools and reforms had not yet materialised.
Initially, the project had a broader scope including lobbying regulation and asset recovery, but following institutional developments and national reprioritisation, the scope was refined to focus on conflict of interest, a pivotal area with system-wide impact. The need was clear: Greece had committed to enhancing its National Integrity System through the National Anti-Corruption Action Plan (NACAP) and required expert support to move from principles to practice.
This created a window of opportunity. The project, in strategic partnership with the OECD, aimed to diagnose the gaps in existing policy, map national and international best practices, and recommend practical reforms to introduce a coherent, actionable conflict of interest framework for the Greek public sector. The challenge was not only technical but cultural — raising awareness among thousands of public servants and supporting them with simple, effective tools.
Ultimately, the project responded to a core democratic need: ensuring that public power is exercised in the public interest, without personal bias or hidden agendas. That is the foundation on which public integrity rests — and which this project sought to strengthen.
The project strengthened Greece’s public integrity system through a series of targeted activities co-designed and implemented with the OECD. Its core focus was to equip public institutions and officials with better tools to detect, manage, and prevent conflicts of interest—an area highlighted as a national reform priority. First, a comprehensive mapping of Greek and international frameworks was conducted, resulting in a report that identifies current gaps and good practices on managing conflicts of interest. Building on this, a second report delivered practical legislative proposals and operational tools tailored to the Greek public sector. These findings were shared during a national conference in Athens in April 2024, fostering dialogue among more than 100 public officials, experts, and stakeholders. To build skills and awareness across the administration, a web-based training tool was developed, comprising 16 video modules. These covered a wide range of issues, from ethical decision-making and whistleblower protection to case studies drawn from sectors like health, local government, and procurement. The videos were informed by OECD best practices and adapted to Greece’s institutional and legal environment.
A nationwide survey was also launched to capture how integrity policies are perceived and implemented by public servants. With over 3,000 full responses collected, the survey offers valuable data that will guide future anti-corruption and awareness-raising measures.
Together, these outputs supported the implementation of Greece’s National Integrity System and the National Anti-Corruption Action Plan, laying a robust foundation for more transparent, ethical, and accountable public service.
The project delivered tangible, lasting results for improving public integrity in Greece. It produced a set of high-quality, practical outputs that directly support national reforms and international commitments to transparency and accountability. Notably, two major policy reports were prepared by the OECD, mapping national and international practices and offering concrete legislative proposals to regulate conflicts of interest. These proposals form the basis for future legal reforms aligned with GRECO recommendations and national strategies, such as the National Anti-Corruption Action Plan (NACAP).
To foster institutional learning and equip public officials with relevant knowledge, the project created a web-based training platform comprising 16 professional video lessons. These resources are now used to support public officials in understanding and applying principles of integrity in their daily work. A dedicated perception survey of 3.000 civil servants was also conducted to assess awareness and attitudes on integrity safeguards. This survey generated data that will inform the next generation of training and anti-corruption policies.
Additionally, the project culminated in a multi-stakeholder public conference that disseminated its findings, strengthened dialogue among institutions, and contributed to a shared understanding of the tools required to build an effective National Integrity System. Direct beneficiaries include the National Transparency Authority (NTA), the Ministry of Interior, and all public administration bodies whose staff have access to the training tools and will be influenced by the future legislation. In the long term, citizens, private organisations, and civil society at large stand to benefit from a more transparent, fair, and ethical public administration. The project results are institutionally embedded and financially sustainable. Their integration into binding strategies and national priorities ensures continued use and relevance, demonstrating how international cooperation with the OECD has helped strengthen the foundations of public integrity in Greece