Switzerland is not doing enough to fight corruption

This is, at least, what the Council of Europe maintains in a report published this Monday.

Switzerland should do more to limit the risks of corruption, says a report by the Council of Europe’s Group of States against Corruption (Greco). This points out shortcomings regarding federal advisors, lobbying and revolving doors.

In his report published Monday, Greco requests that specific measures are taken to prevent corruption in Switzerland with regard to persons exercising high executive functions (PHFE), namely federal councilors, the Chancellor of the Confederation, vice-chancellors or even senior civil servants of the federal administration, heads of the information and other personal advisors to “ministers”.

Well rated nonetheless

Overall, however, Switzerland has an adequate framework to fight corruption, notes the Council of Europe. Certain rules have exemplary value, particularly in terms of access to information, transparency of the legislative process and public consultation.

Greco nevertheless considers that the Federal Council’s strategy against corruption could be more ambitious. The interdepartmental working group responsible for this fight “lacks independence and resources”. Concerning the PHFE, the Council of Europe is calling for measures to better combat lobbying and revolving doors (the transfer of a senior official to a private company).

Recusals of participants in Federal Council meetings should in particular be made public. It is also a question, underlines Greco, of strengthening transparency on the commercial and financial interests of PHFEs, in order to bring to light potential conflicts of interest.

A “certain reluctance to sound the alarm”

The Federal Office of Customs and Border Security (OFDF) and the Federal Judicial Police (PJD) should work more proactively, according to the report. The latter notes a “certain reluctance to blow the whistle” (particularly in the event of an ethical problem, editor’s note), even if, overall, the whistleblower protection system “functions adequately” to denunciations from federal employees.

The implementation of the 15 recommendations addressed to Switzerland will be evaluated by Greco in 2026, as part of its compliance procedure, the press release concludes. (ats)

A 33-year-old Swiss woman was seriously injured by her companion on Sunday evening in the entrance hall of a building in Le Locle (NE).

The perpetrator was arrested on the scene, without resistance, and placed in police custody. According to the Neuchâtel police on Monday, the attacker, a 45-year-old Turkish national living in the canton, used a sharp weapon.