$13 million funding
to support public reforms

Project aims to enhance transparency, integrity, and accountability

The Delegation of the European Union (EU) to Lebanon said the EU and Expertise France have launched a €12 million ($12.9 million) project to support the reform of the public administration and enhance its transparency, integrity, and accountability.

“Support to the Public Procurement Reform will also be at the core of the project,” the EU said in a statement. The EU and Expertise France, which is a public agency involved in international technical cooperation, will support oversight bodies that act as safeguards against corruption, malfeasance, and inefficiency in the public sector.

The project aims to safeguard the integrity of the public administration, mainly in the area of management of human resources including responsibilities of public officials, standards of transparency in appointments, promotion and non-discriminatory recruitment of public officials.

“The four-year project, funded by the EU, is aligned with the National Anti-Corruption Strategy (2020-2025), the opportunities of reform identified by the IMF Staff-Level Agreement and the principles of modern public administration. It also complements the current work done through the Lebanon Financing Facility for the Reform, Recovery and Reconstruction Framework (3RF),” the EU said. The 3RF is a $2.6 billion plan launched by the United Nations (UN), EU, and World Bank in the aftermath of the Port Explosion in 2020. It aims to support reconstruction efforts and reforms.