Government nominates anti-corruption chief

Latvia moved Sept. 3 to bolster its fight against corruption by naming a director for a new anti-corruption agency, an initiative seen as key to its efforts to secure entry into the EU and NATO.

After three failed attempts this year to find a suitable candidate to head the newly created anti-corruption bureau, the government nominated to the post Janis Jonass, a 35-year-old lawyer and former high-ranking Justice Ministry official.

Jonass "in his interview showed good knowledge about the problem of corruption and also about the principles of the functioning of the anti-corruption bureau," Justice Minister Ingrida Labucka told journalists after the government session.

A former deputy state secretary in the Justice Ministry who has been in private law practice since 1998, Jonass must still be confirmed by the Parliament.

Latvia's anti-corruption efforts have emerged as one of the more serious concerns about the ex-Soviet republic's bid for EU and NATO membership.

In several high profile cases prosecutors failed to press cases against several top law enforcement officials whose family members possessed property far beyond their declared sources of income.

With the second-worst corruption perception rating among EU candidate countries in 2001 by the international watchdog Transparency International, Latvia has been repeatedly urged by the West to crack down on corruption.

NATO chief George Robertson stressed the importance of stepping up anti-corruption efforts during a visit to Latvia earlier this year.

"The quality of the legal system and the robustness of anti-corruption measures are of enormous importance to NATO countries and to your application," he told lawmakers.

Latvia has moved swiftly to strengthen its anti-corruption efforts, tightening legislation.

"The most significant work by the government in the anti-corruption area has been the creation of the anti-crime and corruption council, which is headed by the prime minister, and the anti-corruption bureau," said the council's secretary, Rudolfs Kalnins.

The council has brought added government resolve to battle corruption, while the new bureau, which unites investigators that were previously spread between several law enforcement bodies, has been the centerpiece of improved enforcement efforts.

Kalnins also pointed to the adoption of laws requiring officials to declare income, on financing of political parties.

Latvia has also improved its score on Transparency Inter-national's corruption perception index, which rose to 3.7 points out of 10 in 2002 from 3.4 points in 2002.