The Netherlands has made some progress in preventing corruption and promoting integrity within central government and the police, but further reforms are needed, concludes the Council of Europe Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) in a follow-up report published today.
The report assesses the country's compliance with the 16 recommendations issued by GRECO in its 2018 Fifth Round evaluation report. To date, the Netherlands has fully implemented seven recommendations, partly implemented eight recommendations, and has yet to implement one recommendation.
GRECO acknowledges certain progress toward implementing the outstanding recommendations regarding persons with top executive functions, such as the appointment of two former ministers as confidential counsellors and the consideration of a bill to codify post-employment rules for former members of government.
However, GRECO underscores the need for more tangible and robust measures. The Netherlands has yet to adopt a dedicated integrity policy that targets areas where risks of conflicts of interest and corruption appear particularly challenging, and which applies to all persons with top executive functions. In addition, the authorities should establish a mechanism for supervising and sanctioning breaches of the Code of Conduct for members of government and introduce a system of regular financial declarations by cabinet members during their mandate.
Regarding law enforcement agencies, six recommendations have been satisfactorily implemented. Additional steps are necessary to introduce further measures to report and centrally register accepted gifts, as well as to report and register financial interests.
In accordance with its rules of procedure, GRECO concludes that the Netherlands is not yet in sufficient compliance with the recommendations and has requested the authorities to provide a report on the progress in implementing the outstanding recommendations by 31 March 2026.
