1. Development of Public Service Ethics in Estonia Anneli Sihver Public Administration and Public Service Department May 21, 2013

2. Facts about Estonia Parliamentary Republic – Regained its independence on 20 August 1991 – Riigikogu has the supreme legislative power – President as the Head of State – Prime Minister as the Head of Government (coalition government) Unitary state, divided into 15 counties 45 227 km² (1,1% of European Union’s area) Population: 1.3 million (0,3% of European Union’s population) Ethnic composition: Estonians 69%, Russians 26%, others 5% Member of the European Union, Eurozone, NATO, OECD 32th in TI corruption perception index

3. Cornerstones of public service framework 1992 Constitution (§30) 1995 Public Service Act 1999 Anti-Corruption Act 1999 Code of Public Service Ethics 2004-2006 1st Anti-Corruption Strategy 2008-2012 2nd Anti-Corruption Strategy 1 April 2013 new Public Service Act and new Anti-Corruption Act entered into force

4. Public service forms 5% of labour market State officials 81% Local Government officials 19% Public Service <5% Private and NGO sector 75% Public sector 25%

5. Main characteristics of Estonian public service 64 Central Government Institutions (22 286 officials) – 11 ministries (2 441 public servants) – 30 agencies and inspectorates (14 906) – 7 constitutional institutions (735) – 15 county governments (540) – Defence Forces (3 664) 226 Local Government Authorities (5 083 officials) 53,1 % aged under 41 47 % men and 53% women 22 % length of service up to 5 years and 56% longer than 10 years As of 31.12.2011

6. Coordination of public service Ministry of Interior Ministry of Finance Ministry of Justice Government Office

7. Coordination of public service ethics  Integrated to the framework of Anti-Corruption Strategy http://www.korruptsioon.ee/strateegia  Decentralised system  The role of the Ministry of Finance: -Supporting development of public service ethics infrastructure -Enhancing awareness on public service ethics via “Central Training Programme”, guidelines and counselling -Monitoring the state of affairs on ethics via surveys -If necessary, initiating draft regulations and amendments to regulations

8. Starting point of developing public service ethics in Estonia Systematic development of professional identity in public service Law does not (have to) regulate all ethically questionable situations Officials have to be ethically competent to recognize and avoid ethically questionable practices as well as analyse such kind of situations Case learning allows officials to understand abstract concepts and apply them in practice Public service ethics is public trust!

9. Most officials agree that employment in public service assumes specific values and attitudes Government Office. 2005 and 2009. “Roles and Attitudes in Public Service”

10. Public service ethics Public service ethics is a set of principles and values that all public servants are expected to hold Integrity management= the whole of management instruments that are aimed at stimulating and enforcing integrity within an organisation Source: www.avalikteenistus.ee

11. An official attends regularly European Commission expert group meetings in Brussels. The ministry covers his per diem, travelling and accommodation costs. The official uses personal bonus card of an airline during those trips. Is it ethical to use earned bonus points for personal travelling? 11

12. Two approaches towards development of public service ethics (J. Maesschalk) Compliance Model Avoiding unethical behaviour Emphasis on external control Typical measures: – Regulations – Detailed codes of conduct – Strict procedures – Private interest declarations Integrity Model Promoting ethical behaviour Emphasis on internal control Typical measures – Workshops, trainings – Aspirational codes of ethics – Coaching

13. Measures to reinforce ethics (2009) 13

14. Regulatory framework on public service ethics in Public Service Act -Oath of office -General obligations: -Honesty, competence, impartiality, taking into account public interest, prudent use of official resources, behaving respectably -Maintaining confidential information -Strike ban -Requirement to inform about side-activities in written and bases for prohibition -Restrictions on supervision over connected persons -Prohibition to earn profit from activities included in the job description -Restrictions on post-employment

15. Other principles of Public Service Act supporting ethical public service Public competitions for vacant posts Temporary rotation possibilities Heads of units have to have a university degree Prohibitions of employment – e.g. spouse or a unmarried partner and relatives under direct subordination, person under punishment for committed criminal offence Functions, requirements and work time are included in job descriptions Salaries of officials and salary guides of agencies are public 15

16. Regulatory Framework in Anti-Corruption Act NB! Applies to public sector in general – Prohibitions: Corrupt use of official positiom Corrupt use of public resources Corrupt use of influence Corrupt use of inside information Income derived from corrupt practices – Procedural restrictions – e.g. concluding transactions to connected persons – Declaration of private interests New electonic private interests registry since 2014 16

17. Attitudes Towards Ethically Questionable Activities

18. Public Service Code of Ethics  Adopted by Riigikogu (Parliament) in 1999  Annex to the Public Service Act until Council of Ethics will approve new Code of Ethics of Officials  Contains 20 important (core) values recognised in EU and OECD countries:  Position of public service in the state  Principles of public life  Professional qualities  Personal qualities

19. Values among Estonian public servants Government Office. 2009. Roles and Attitudes in Public Service.

20. Anti-Corruption Strategy 2008-2012 Coordinated by the Ministry of Justice New strategy (2013-2020) will be submitted to the Government this summer Target groups and areas of priority: - Private sector and non-profit sector - Public sector personnel - Local governments - Health care sector - Foundations established by the state and local governments - Grant of the driving licences and in roadworthiness testing and registration of vehicles - Financing of political parties - Agencies responsible for investigating corruption offences

21. Anti-Corruption Strategy 2008-2012 Objective II: prevention of conflict of interest, and reinforcing the anti-corruption attitude and ethical behaviour of public sector personnel: New Anti-Corruption Act New database of declarations of economic interests Updating central training materials of ethics Estonian-specific handbook concerning conflict of interests Central ethics training programmes to public servants and other public sector target groups Corruption and ethics surveys Establishment of the Council of Public Service Ethics Analysis of applicability of the whistleblower protection system in Estonia

22. Central training programmes on ethics Aim at: – Raising awareness – Improving ethical competence – Shaping negative attitudes towards corruption Programme “Central Training”– horizontal training scheme coordinated by the Ministry of Finance Voluntary Various public sector target groups Topics: concepts of public service ethics, regulatory framework, public service values, application of ethical decision-making model

23. Model of ethical decision-making Identify the relevant facts Identify the relevant public service values Identify other relevant ethical standards and rules Decide what is important Reconsider any remaining conflicts Test your assessment in practice Adaption of the “Big E” Model from the “Public Sector Ethics Series”

24. Guidelines and training materials Adapted version of “The Public Sector Ethics Resource Series” (DVD) (Eds. Hazlehurst, C. and Whitton, H.) Translated version of OECD Toolkit “Managing Conflict of Interest in the Public Sector” Estonian-Specific Handbook on Avoiding Conflict of Interest

25. Public Service Ethics Day November 29th 2011 Raising awareness on public service ethics, facilitating cooperation among organisations, supporting ongoing initiatives to support public service ethics Target group: 215 top and mid-level managers of state and local government agencies International key speakers 4 workshops on “burning” issues – corruption in local governments, implementation of Public Service Code of Ethics etc. 25

26. Council of Ethics of Officials (according to the new Public Service Act and Government Decree on Work Procedure of Commission of Public Service Ethics) Purpose: enforcement of core values and ethics of officials Functions: - approving new Public Service Code of Ethics - communicating the principles of Public Service Code of Ethics - advising officials - individual cases and guidelines - analysing implementation of Public Service Code of Ethics - supporting strategic development of public service ethics 9 members 26

27. Survey “Roles and Attitudes in the Public Service”  Regular survey (2005, 2009, 2013) Aims of the survey are to identify:  Motivators in the public service  Values and image of public service  Attitudes towards ethically questionable practices  Opportunities to enforce public service ethics and values

28. www.avalikteenistus.eewww.avalikteenistus.ee

29. T ə ş ə kkür edir ə m ! Aitäh! anneli.sihver@fin.ee www.avalikteenistus.ee