On 16 May Deputy Prime Minister Karolína Peake reported on State and Means of Implementation of Tasks Under 2011 – 2012 Fight against Corruption Government Strategy in Q4 2011 and Q1 2012 and Update of 2011 and 2012 Fight Against Corruption Government Strategy – May 2012.The document contains 58 measures against corruption, 84 tasks together with subtasks. 54 of them are fulfilled or partially fulfilled. The completed tasks are e.g. analysis of the regulation of lobbying and draft of points for Corruption Impact Assessment (CIA). The delay in performing the tasks is due to different points of view of the representatives of ministries or experts on solutions of the tasks e.g. protection of whistle-blowers. The Government will discuss the next report on the tasks in November 2012. 

On 9 May 2012 the Government approved the Code of Ethics for public officials and public administration employees by the Ministry of the Interior, which is a part of government´s strategy against corruption. The aim of the Code is not only minimize corruption, but also ensure clearer competences and rules for public officials and public administration employees in which situations they might get into private sector-public interest conflict and how to react. Moreover it defines the standards of professional behavior of an employee in relationship to public and to other employees.

An important step was made in the trade relationship between the EU and the U.S. Under the agreement the EU and the U.S. will recognize all the companies certified as Authorized Economic Operators (AEOs) in the EU. AEOs in the EU will receive benefits when exporting to the US market, and the EU will reciprocate for certified members of the US Customs-Trade Partnership against terrorism (C-TPAT). Mutual recognition will enable the companies to benefit from faster controls and reduced administration for customs clearance. The agreement will come into force on 1 July 2012.

OGP is an international initiative by the US administration to support effective, transparent and accountable governments and its state administration. Since September 8 founding governments together with 47 governments joined the OGP. The Action Plan of the Czech Republic was approved on April 4 and reacts on a need to improve access to data, improve effectivity of the state administration and encourages public participation in decision-making processes at national level.

The Czech Minister of Defense Alexandr Vondra and the U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta signed a ´Reciprocal Procurement of Defense Equipment and Services Agreement´ on April 18. The agreement is very significant for Czech defense industry companies, which can apply directly for public contracts by the U.S. Department of Defense. Czech firms could only be subcontractors for U.S. enterprises so far. The document entered into force upon signature. The press release in Czech you can find on the pages of the Ministry of Defense here and the full text of the agreements also in Czech and English and other information you can find on the pages of the U.S. Embassy here.