Transparency International is a non-profit and non-partisan NGO movement that stands against corruption and for greater transparency worldwide. The Austrian Chapter is one of over 100 National Chapters, all of which engage on a systematic level with local stakeholders.

Last Monday, on June 13, the NGO held its first annual general assembly in person since the start of the COVID pandemic. KNOETZL Partner Bettina Knoetzl, in her capacity as President of the Austria Chapter highlighted that the latest corruption scandals give rise to Austria’s urgent need for more transparency. Laws such as the “information freedom law (Informationsfreiheitsgesetz)”, and the implementation of a whistleblowing directive have been long overdue. Bettina set forth for the government, a reminder: Governmental integrity is not measured by the number of draft laws circulated, but rather, only by its real actions. We need to experience a true commitment to dramatically raise the level of transparency in the Austrian government.

The general assembly 2022 took place in the beautiful “Wappensaal” of Vienna’s City hall. The participants were inspired to continue to advance the public good through governmental integrity and we at KNOETZL will continue to support the important work of Transparency International in the years to come.