Italy’s National Anti-Corruption Authority (ANAC) and San Marino’s Secretariat of State for Internal Affairs have signed a new Memorandum of Understanding to strengthen cooperation on public contracts and corruption prevention. The agreement was signed by ANAC president Giuseppe Busia and Secretary of State Andrea Belluzzi, updating the memorandum originally signed in San Marino on 8 March 2016.
Part of the agreement focuses on procurement and digitalisation: the two administrations will work together on procedural transparency, oversight, and the collection of data relating to public contracts. Where useful, the deal also envisages the free sharing of digital models and tools for qualifying economic operators and managing information throughout the various stages of the procurement process.
On the corruption-prevention front, the Memorandum calls for the development of tools to assess risk, strengthened controls, and the promotion of codes of conduct. It also provides for training initiatives aimed at public officials and law enforcement personnel, as well as the exchange of experience and working methods. The cooperation ties in with international commitments undertaken under the UN Convention against Corruption and GRECO, the Council of Europe’s Group of States against Corruption.
“This renewed Memorandum of Understanding strengthens a decade-long collaborative relationship, projecting it toward more modern and effective tools,” said Busia. “Sharing experience and digital solutions with the Republic of San Marino confirms the value of international cooperation in fighting corruption and promoting administrative transparency. With the renewal of this agreement, the Authority’s supervisory and regulatory model gains recognition beyond Italy’s borders, consolidating its role as an international point of reference in corruption prevention and in driving ever-stronger digitalisation to ensure the traceability of public contracts.”
For Belluzzi, the agreement gives San Marino the opportunity to draw on the expertise and tools developed by the Italian authority. “With the signing of this new Memorandum, San Marino consolidates a highly valuable institutional relationship with ANAC,” the Secretary of State commented. “Digitalisation, oversight and corruption prevention are priorities that our Secretariat pursues with determination: cooperation with a leading authority such as ANAC gives us valuable tools, expertise and best practices to keep raising the standards of transparency and integrity within San Marino’s public administration. For the Secretariat of State for Internal Affairs, cooperation with ANAC therefore represents a concrete opportunity to accelerate the digital transition in public contract management, strengthen anti-corruption safeguards, and progressively align our regulatory system with European and international standards, in keeping with the Republic’s ongoing path toward closer ties with the European Union.”
