Swiss anti-corruption efforts convince oversight body
Plenty of work remains to be done to improve party-funding transparency in Switzerland, according to Transparency International
Keystone
The Council of Europe’s Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) has ended its non-conformity proceedings against Switzerland. It said Switzerland’s efforts concerning transparency in party financing were heading in the right direction.
This content was published on
2 minutes
Keystone-SDA/ts
The government said in a statementExternal link on Tuesday it had taken note of GRECO’s sixth interim report on the 2011 country examination.
This dealt on the one hand with the criminal provisions against corruption and on the other with party financing. GRECOExternal link made recommendations to Switzerland in both areas. Specifically, Switzerland was asked to address the bribery of individuals and opacity in party financing.
While all GRECO recommendations on criminal law have been fully implemented since the revised criminal law on corruption came into force in 2016, the recommendations on transparency in political financing have all remained open. Switzerland was therefore transferred to the so-called non-conformity procedure.
In its sixth interim report, GRECO came to the conclusion that Switzerland’s current efforts towards transparency in political financing were heading in the right direction. From GRECO’s point of view, the indirect counterproposal to the transparency initiative sent by parliament for consultation would implement the recommendations sufficiently.
Accordingly, it has repealed the non-compliance proceedings against Switzerland.
Switzerland must now report to GRECO on the progress of its efforts by the end of 2020. On that basis, GRECO will adopt a further conformity report.
The NGO pointed out that six of the 11 GRECO recommendations remained unfulfilled or only partially fulfilled.
“The progress mentioned in the GRECO report came about only thanks to positive cantonal referendums and the federal transparency initiative,” said Martin Hilti, director of Transparency International Switzerland.
“It is therefore high time that the citizens of the cantons also took action at national level to ensure greater transparency in the near future. Otherwise, Switzerland will remain the only country in Europe without binding transparency rules in political financing – an unworthy and intolerable situation for our democracy and the rule of law.”
More
More
Campaign funding still a taboo topic in Switzerland
This content was published on
swissinfo.ch sheds light on the tradition of Swiss secrecy on funding of political parties and candidates during elections.
Is your place of origin, your Heimatort, important to you?
Every Swiss citizen has a Heimatort, a place of origin, but many have never visited theirs. What’s your relationship with your Heimatort? What does it mean to you?
Switzerland is Europe’s most innovative country, EU study finds
This content was published on
In the European Commission's annual ranking, the Swiss score dropped slightly in 2025, but not enough to cost it top spot.
Women’s Euro 2025 has been largely peaceful so far
This content was published on
After two weeks of football fever in various Swiss host cities, no major incidents have been reported so far, police say.
Planned solar park at Bern airport scaled back after talks
This content was published on
The ground-mounted plant at Belpmoos Airport will be smaller than originally planned, the parties involved said on Tuesday.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Switzerland criticised over opaque political financing
This content was published on
A top Council of Europe anti-corruption official has called on Switzerland to strengthen laws on transparency in political financing.
Geneva expenses scandal sparks calls for more transparency
This content was published on
Members of the Geneva city council are under fire for claiming exorbitant amounts for expenses, such as champagne, taxis and telephone bills.
This content was published on
The Swiss government says it rejects a popular initiative calling for more transparency in political party funding and sees no need to legislate.
Switzerland reprimanded for opaque political financing
This content was published on
Council of Europe Group of States against CorruptionExternal link (Greco) criticised Switzerland’s “lack of progress” on the issue. At present, Swiss political parties are not obliged to declare the source of their funding, whether it be from individuals, corporations or other interest groups. “Greco expresses regret that the federal government is maintaining its position of…
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.