Portugal's Oversight Challenges in Anti-Corruption Measures
Declaration of Interests Monitoring
The OECD's latest report on corruption underscores Portugal's deficiencies in monitoring the registers of interests of high-ranking State officials. While 98% of MPs have submitted declarations of interests in the last five years, Portugal lacks effective tracking mechanisms for disclosures from ministers, high-level civil servants, and judges.
Political Party Financing
According to the OECD, Portugal prohibits contributions from foreign States and companies but allows anonymous donations within specified limits. Although all political parties submitted election-related accounts on time for the last two electoral cycles, some have failed to submit annual accounts within the deadlines set by national legislation over the past five years.
Compliance with OECD Standards
In terms of public information access and open data, Portugal meets 89% of the regulatory criteria and 65% in practice compared to the OECD average of 67% and 62%, respectively. However, the country faces challenges in auditing corruption risk due to inconsistent definitions and implementation of internal audit and control procedures across government institutions.
Navigating the National Anti-Corruption Strategy
While the National Anti-Corruption Strategy 2020-2024 outlines objectives to mitigate integrity risks, it lacks specific target values for outcome indicators and does not comprehensively address existing integrity risks. Although an action plan is in place, there is no monitoring report available, hindering the assessment of progress and effectiveness.
The OECD report sheds light on Portugal's struggles in monitoring compliance with anti-corruption measures, signaling the need for strengthened oversight mechanisms and more robust implementation of anti-corruption strategies.
