Integrity in the public sector is a foundational pillar of good governance, essential for ensuring trust in institutions, preventing corruption, and fostering rule-based service delivery. Across the Western Balkans, integrity challenges—ranging from conflicts of interest and political patronage to weak enforcement of codes of conduct—continue to undermine public trust and hinder progress in Public Administration Reform (PAR) and the European integration process. Recognizing that integrity is not merely a legal or procedural issue, but a core value that must pervade public institutions and their culture, ReSPA has intensified its focus on this topic. 

According to SIGMA's 2024 assessment, while the Western Balkans generally have solid legal and policy frameworks for public sector integrity, their effectiveness is hampered by weak enforcement, political interference, and a lack of reliable data. Implementation of anti-corruption strategies lags behind, whistleblower protections remain flawed, and lobbying regulations are underdeveloped. Mechanisms such as asset declaration and integrity-related disciplinary procedures are often insufficiently regulated, poorly monitored, or lack transparency.

To identify concrete bottlenecks and capacity needs in promoting ethical conduct, preventing corruption, and institutionalizing integrity mechanisms across the public sector, ReSPA began working on the Regional Analysis on Public Sector Integrity, to be finalised in May 2025. The analysis maps the legal and institutional frameworks, examines existing practices of integrity management, highlights training efforts, and draws on relevant EU experiences to propose actionable and context-sensitive recommendations.

Importantly, the draft regional analysis underlines the need for coordinated integrity strategies that go beyond formal compliance, emphasizing proactive risk prevention, systematic ethics training, improved inter-agency cooperation, and the creation of a professional culture that values transparency and accountability. It also signals that the promotion of integrity must be embedded within broader HRM, policymaking, and digital transformation agendas.

To ensure that the draft findings of the analysis contribute to tangible reform outcomes, ReSPA is organizing a Regional Public Sector Integrity Workshop. The event will convene a diverse set of public administration stakeholders and integrity institutions from the Western Balkans and the EU to reflect on shared challenges, highlight promising practices, and identify paths for regional cooperation and mutual learning.

The workshop will focus on four core components:

• Presentation of the draft ReSPA regional analysis and its key recommendations;
• Peer discussions on specific challenges and opportunities for improvement in WB administrations;
• Learning from EU experiences, particularly from the French public administration;
• Launching a long-term cooperation mechanism through the creation of a Community of Practice on Public Sector Integrity.

This initiative builds on ReSPA’s mandate to support member administrations through evidence-based policymaking, practical capacity building, and regional dialogue. It reflects a growing recognition that cultivating public sector integrity is not only a matter of institutional efficiency but also a strategic imperative for democratic resilience, effective service delivery, and alignment with EU values.