The European Commission’s 2024 Annual Rule of Law Report indicates Cyprus has made partial progress in bolstering the independence and accountability of its Attorney General.
However, the report recommends Cyprus should advance legislation to more clearly delineate the Attorney General’s advisory and prosecutorial roles, and establish measures to effectively oversee the Attorney General’s power to halt prosecutions.
Significant headway has been made in creating rules for asset disclosure by officials, the report notes. However, no progress was observed in promoting legislation to ensure equitable and transparent allocation of state advertising expenditure.
The Commission reported “some further progress” in fortifying the independence of public media and partial progress in funding the Independent Authority Against Corruption adequately.
The report, which covers the EU’s 27 member states and four enlargement candidates, offers several recommendations for Cyprus:
- Advance legislation to distinguish between the Attorney General’s advisory and prosecutorial duties more clearly.
- Continue efforts to properly resource the Independent Anti-Corruption Authority.
- Implement asset disclosure rules for elected officials effectively.
- Enact legislation to ensure fair distribution of state advertising expenditure.
- Further enhance public media governance, considering European standards.
- Improve stakeholder consultation in the legislative process.
These recommendations are based on the report’s findings and Cyprus’s commitments under the Recovery and Resilience Plan.
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