EU Statement on the Second phase of the Implementation Review Mechanism of the United Nations Convention against Corruption, 18 May 2026

EU Statement on the Second phase of the Implementation Review Mechanism of the United Nations Convention against Corruption, 18 May 2026

Distinguished Chair, dear colleagues,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union and its Member States. Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Iceland, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Republic of Moldova, and Ukraine align themselves with this statement.

Chair,

Let me start with by thanking the Secretariat for sharing the first draft of the Self-Assessment Checklist for the second review phase and for the background documents.

This session of the Implementation Review Group comes after the 11^th Conference in Doha which launched the Second Phase of the Implementation Review Mechanism. We are looking forward to a constructive year ahead with important discussions based on the consensus found in resolution 11/2 in which decided on the modalities for the second phase. The European Union and its Member States believe that the Implementation Review Mechanism is essential for the effective implementation of the UNCAC. Its second phase should ensure that States Parties can correctly identify new measures and efforts deployed since the first phase to effectively implement the UNCAC, where further efforts are needed, and where they can receive support in this regard.

We stress the importance of keeping the Self-Assessment Checklist (SACL) in line with the language of the Resolution 11/2 from Doha and believe that the draft presented by UNODC is already doing so. For the EU, it is essential that the SACL include a reference to new developments and clear language on technical assistance, both in line with what has been agreed in Doha. Furthermore, with a view to enhancing transparency and participation, we would encourage countries to share additional information on the consultation of non-government stakeholders and on the way their contributions have informed the checklist.

Chair,

We are happy to announce, that the executive summary of the first cycle of the implementation review for the EU has been published at the end of last year. This has been an important milestone towards the conclusion of the first cycle review which started in 2021.

Within the limits of the European Union's competence and the specificities of our institutional framework, the review highlights our commitment to fight against corruption. It underlines the actions taken at EU-level to criminalise corrupt behaviour and to encourage international cooperation under UNCAC. Our review also identifies challenges in implementation, where the European Union needs to strengthen its implementation of the Convention. These conclusions are very valuable for us - the adoption of the Directive on combating corruption this year is already comprehensively addressing many of the identified issues.

I would also like to highlight the good cooperation with the reviewers, Czech Republic and Niue, and thank the Secretariat for the trust-based collaboration throughout the entire process.

Additionally, we have ensured that the reviewers could consult and engage independently with civil society. We have actively worked towards a transparent procedure, publishing all relevant documents.

We continue to believe that civil society organisations have an important role to play in the fight against corruption and specifically in peer reviews. We are looking forward to the final step, the publication of the full report.

Thank you, Chair.