A European Union (EU)-funded Twinning project in Jordan has been successfully completed after almost two years of implementation. It aimed to increase transparency, improve corruption prevention measures, and manage corruption risks and conflicts of interest in Jordanian national institutions. A total of 47 missions and 6 study visits were organised and more than 200 professionals were trained by experts.
This EU Twinning Project was implemented by experts from the Special Investigation Service of the Republic of Lithuania (STT), Police Department under the Ministry of the Interior, Chief Official Ethics Commission, as well as Austrian institutions. The project was administrated by the Central Project Management Agency (CPMA), the total budget for the project implementation was EUR 1.5 million.
During the project, Lithuanian and Austrian experts shared their experience in strengthening the national coordination mechanism for the prevention of corruption with the Jordanian Integrity and Anti-Corruption Commission (JIACC). The focus was on reviewing the application of the National Integrity Standards in the public sector to guarantee the implementation, compliance with, and activation of these standards with related institutions in Jordan. A range of practical tools and solutions, such as model questionnaires, data processing tools, a methodology for measuring resilience to corruption, training programmes and other tools, have been developed that will raise awareness in Jordan’s public and private sectors and civil society about the values of integrity and ethics, the principles of transparency and the risks of corrupt practices. The project also developed the Operational Manual for Corruption Risk Assessment and Management, that enabled JIACC and its specialized directorates to effectively assess and manage corruption risks in the ministries, departments and public agencies.
“The European Union has a strong and comprehensive partnership with Jordan, with an aim to contribute to the long-term prosperity and stability of the country. In this context, democratic governance and the systems of a responsive state, accountable institutions and the fight against corruption underpin the EU’s commitment. Corruption impacts the ability of a state to cater for its citizens and damages the trust in government institutions. It is therefore paramount that we join forces to fight this evil,” said H.E. Maria Hadjitheodosiou, the EU Ambassador to Jordan, at the project’s closing ceremony.
The Chairman of JIACC, H.E. Dr. Muhannad Hijazi, has stressed that the Commission acknowledges the importance of partnership with the executive bodies in terms of exchanging experiences in the fields of anti-corruption to enhance and consolidate the compliance with the National Integrity Standards in public sector, as well as the importance of motivating the public officials to initiate proactive action to prevent corruption crime.
Additionally, H.E. Artūras Gailiūnas, the Ambassador of the Republic of Lithuania to Egypt, has underlined that the legal, institutional and professional ties established during this Project will be a sustainable integral part of the bilateral relationship between the Jordanian and Lithuanian people, as well as European Union.
About the Twinning Programme
The Twinning Programme is an EU instrument for cooperation between public administrative authorities in EU Member States and beneficiary or partner countries. It provides Member States’ public administrative authorities with the opportunity to cooperate directly with their counterparts from IPA (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey) and ENI (Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Syria, Tunisia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine) countries.
CPMA’s experience in implementing Twinning projects
CPMA has taken over part of the administrative functions of the National Twinning Coordinator since 2017 and has been building up its experience in this field for more than 15 years. Prior to its accession to the EU, since 1999, Lithuania participated in the Twinning programme as a beneficiary country and implemented PHARE projects to bring the public administration system in line with EU standards and to implement reforms. At that time, CPMA had already administered 125 Twinning projects. Since 2004, Lithuania has been participating in the Twinning projects as a donor country and has been transferring its reform experience to the EU’s neighbours and to countries preparing to join the EU. In total, CPMA has successfully implemented 60 Twinning projects over 18 years. For the last five years, CPMA has been ranked among the top five in the EU for the number of contracted and implemented Twinning projects.
