2016 will be a crucial year for the issues of anti-corruption and transparency in Italy. For this reason, Transparency International Italy and other NGOs put together an agenda of key priorities to be addressed by the Italian government.

Let's talk about transparency

What challenges will we have to face in 2016 with regard to transparency? What needs to be done to fight corruption?
On a sunny Saturday of December, Transparency International Italy brought together 13 non-governmental organizations and civil society associations, including the Italian Coalition for Civil Rights and Freedoms, Associazione Antigone, Diritto di Sapere, Hermes Center for Digital Human Rights, Cittadinanzattiva and Cittadini Reattivi.

The aim of the initiative was to discuss some key issues - such as financial integrity, whistleblowing, lobbying, access to information, sanctions and confiscations - and assemble a #TransparentAgenda of top priorities to be addressed by the Italian government.

A transparent agenda for 2016

At the end of the day - after much debate and reflection - a list of key points to be urgently tackled was presented to the public. Here's what needs to be done in 2016 to adequately address the problem of corruption and guarantee more and more transparency:

• For what concerns financial integrity, it is of the uttermost importance to ensure an adequate monitoring of capitals movements by imposing country-by-country reporting to multi-nationals. It is also important to help citizens better understand the workings of the financial markets through the offer of specific informative courses.
• For what concerns whistleblowing, it is crucial to acknowledge and protect those who find the courage to speak up and denounce corruption. This first and foremost requires the approval of a good law on the matter, but also implies the urgent need to challenge the current negative perception of the phenomenon by the general public through advocacy. It is also necessary to agree on an adequate and positive translation of the term "whistleblower" into Italian, such as "civic agent."
• For what concerns lobbying, regional laws on the subject must be closely monitored and improved in order to ensure compliance.
• For what concerns access to information, the first step is the adoption of an Italian Freedom of Information Act. Italy has indeed already gone way too long without a proper law adequately regulating citizens' access to public information, as denounced by the ongoing campaign #FOIA4Italy. It is due time to fill this gap with a good law on the matter - which should respect the 10 key points individuated by the members of the coalition FOIA 4 Italy and be closely monitored by the Parliament to ensure compliance.
• For what concerns sanctions and confiscations, the general idea is that it would be more efficient to recur to consistent pecuniary sanctions rather than to detention. Furthermore, data on prescriptions, plea bargains and confiscations are to be closely observed.