GRECO report says Armenia has fully implemented six of 22 recommendations

Armenia has satisfactorily implemented six of the 22 recommendations issued under the Council of Europe's anti-corruption monitoring body's fifth evaluation round, while 15 have been partly implemented and one has not been implemented, according to a report by the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO).

The report assesses Armenia's efforts to prevent corruption and promote integrity within central government, including top executive functions, and law enforcement agencies. The report was adopted by GRECO at its 103rd Plenary Meeting, held in Strasbourg from 8 to 12 June 2026.

GRECO said the sole recommendation that remains unimplemented concerns ensuring independent and effective investigations into serious misconduct by police officers, regardless of whether the alleged offences are initially classified as criminal or non-criminal.

While acknowledging progress, GRECO said additional measures and sustained efforts were needed to achieve full compliance with its recommendations.

The body also highlighted the need for Armenia to pay particular attention to recommendations concerning the role of the human rights defender in protecting whistleblowers, noting that this area has yet to see sufficient progress. GRECO encouraged the authorities to continue advancing reforms and said it expected further improvements.

The report said Armenia should make additional progress over the next 18 months to ensure satisfactory implementation of the outstanding recommendations. It called on the head of Armenia's delegation to submit updated information on implementation by Dec. 31, 2027.

Responding to the outstanding recommendation, the Armenian authorities said that following the establishment of the Interior Ministry, the police no longer have a structural unit responsible for conducting internal or disciplinary investigations.

According to the authorities, those functions are now carried out by the Ministry's Internal Security and Anti-Corruption Directorate, which is institutionally separate from police units and includes specialized divisions responsible for investigations involving police officers.

The authorities added that internal or disciplinary investigations may be initiated whenever information about an alleged violation becomes available, regardless of its source, including inspections, media reports, anonymous whistleblower submissions or other information.

They said decisions confirming violations and imposing disciplinary sanctions are not made by the directorate or any other ministry unit but are the responsibility of an independent Disciplinary Commission.