Asset and interest declarations of public officials are a critical tool for accountability. If well designed and implemented, they can help detect conflicts of interest and illicit enrichment, and serve as a powerful mechanism to deter corruption. However, they are often not fully accessible and are underutilized. 

The United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), in its Article 8, requires States Parties to establish “systems requiring public officials to make declarations to appropriate authorities regarding, inter alia, their outside activities, employment, investments, assets and substantial gifts or benefits from which a conflict of interest may result with respect to their functions as public officials”. Article 7 obliges states “to adopt, maintain and strengthen systems that promote transparency and prevent conflicts of interest”. Additionally, Article 52 mandates the creation of “effective financial disclosure systems for appropriate public officials”, the provision of sanctions for non-compliance, and the ability of authorities to share information with competent authorities in other States Parties to investigate, claim and recover illicit assets.

Several members of the UNCAC Coalition Regional Network in Europe and partner organizations, together with the Global Data Barometer (GDB), have created a comprehensive database of asset and interest declarations in Europe. 

The project “Asset and Interest Disclosure Database” sheds light on governance frameworks and availability in practice of asset and interest declarations across European countries. Our large-scale data collection effort, with the participation of 31 organizations, enabled to produce the following dashboard. 

Regional dashboard on asset and interest declarations in Europe

→ The dashboard highlights the diversity of legal frameworks governing asset and interest declarations across Europe, as well as the varying levels of transparency and public access to this information.

→ It also includes a list of links to laws and regulations, and to the publicly available databases of asset and interest declarations for each country.