Basel Institute to support the Government of Bulgaria in strengthening Anti-Corruption and asset recovery efforts

May 2022, Sofia, Bulgaria

The Government of Bulgaria and the Basel Institute on Governance have signed a Memorandum of Understanding covering long-term collaboration in the country’s efforts to combat corruption and recover stolen public funds. Through the agreement, the Basel Institute will support the Bulgarian authorities in strengthening the capacity of specialized law enforcement, judicial, and other relevant officers to effectively investigate corruption and related financial crime cases, identify and trace illicit proceeds, and recover them for the benefit of Bulgarian citizens. In addition to training and hands-on technical assistance, ICAR will work with Basel Institute on Governance partners in Bulgaria to review the current anti-corruption chain, illuminate key blockages, and structural deficits, and identify potential solutions.

Kiril Petkov, Prime Minister of Bulgaria, and Gretta Fenner, the Basel Institute’s Managing Director, signed the agreement in the Bulgarian capital Sofia on 18 May 2022, moments after the Council of Ministers approved the agreement. The signing ceremony was also attended by the Minister of Justice Nadezhda Yordanova, who will be a key partner in this program. Prime Minister Kiril Petkov acknowledged that the fight against corruption is a long-term endeavor, commenting: “This partnership is another step in the right direction, and we hope to deliver concrete results together.”

On the same day, the Council of Ministers also approved draft amendments to the Bulgarian Law on judicial Power that aim to strengthen cooperation with the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO). Emphasizing this is an important piece in the puzzle, Gretta Fenner, the Basel Institute’s Managing Director,said: “We are in this partnership for the long run. The priority is bringing more checks and balances and accountability into key enforcement and judicial authorities. Then we need to ensure that citizens see and feel the impact of these reforms. It will be incremental changes, but we are confident that change is already happening.”

(Photos and text courtesy of Government of Bulgaria and Basel Institute of Governance)

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Ksenija Renko

Chief Executive Officer & Senior Communication Consultant

JUPITER Strategic Consulting Ltd.

Ksenija Renko is a consultant with over 20 years of professional experience in communication and public relations and the Founder and General Director of Jupiter Strategic Consulting Ltd. from Zagreb, specializing in strategic communication, communication management, and public relations (www.jupiter.hr). As a team leader, key expert, senior communication consultant, and lecturer in professional performance, she is committed to managing strategic communication as a crucial prerequisite for successfully conducting business operations and achieving set goals. Ksenija Renko founded Publicis Consultants | Zagreb, Adriatic Hub, an affiliate of the respectable international MSL Group, Publicis Groupe company, which she managed for four years (2008-2012). A graduate of the University of Zagreb in Croatia, Ksenija Renko has a master’s degree in Humanities and Social Sciences and studied Postgraduate Specialist Study in Business Marketing and Public Relations at the University of Zagreb.

Ksenija Renko is a senior communication consultant for business and donor-funded projects and European Union initiatives. She has helped develop and implement numerous communication and visibility policies and strategies and online communication and social media campaigns in Croatia and Southeast Europe Countries. Additionally, Ksenija Renko has worked to implement strategic communication related to the EU accession process and the justice sector in Albania, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia, and Turkey.

While implementing numerous communication projects for local and international clients, Ksenija Renko has managed the most challenging communication operations in strategic communication, public relations, advocacy, and integrated marketing communication. She has provided services in issue management and crisis management - from problem identification, on-site crisis management support, client guidance in the crisis management process during restructuring, mergers, acquisitions, and mediation in relations with key stakeholders. She has cooperated with numerous media and journalists in Croatia and Southeast Europe.

During the last decade, Ksenija Renko has designed and delivered training for public officials in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Georgia, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Turkey. Training topics included Media Relations, Crises Communication, Internal and External Communication, Public Appearance, and the Use of social media. She is a member of the UNODC Global Judicial Integrity Network, the Central and Eastern European Judicial Exchange Network, and the Eastern European Law Initiative (CEELI). Ksenija Renko was a member of the working group that conceived and drafted the first Practical Guidelines on the use of social media by Judges: Central and Eastern European Context, published by the CEELI Institute in Prague (2019). She held training on Public Outreach and Communication for Public Officials of a newly set up African Judicial Exchange Network (Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda).

Ksenija Renko was a lecturer at the University of Dubrovnik, teaching PR Campaigns Management and Integrated Marketing Communication (2007-2011). Since 1999, she has been working on setting up infrastructure and social and business promotion of the PR profession, which was in its infancy at that time in Croatia and Southeast Europe countries. She was the program director of the first Croatian (Zagreb 2000) and the first regional (Banja Luka, 2005) conference for public relations and the editor of the first Croatian PR manual PRO-PR (2001/2002). She was the President, Vice President, and member of the board of the Croatian Public Relations Associations (SUOJ/HUOJ). She was awarded prestigious recognitions for her pioneering work and contribution to the profession. She began her career as a journalist, editor, and director of marketing and promotion, working on some of Croatia's most significant media projects. Among others, with Denis Kuljiš, she founded and worked as an editor in the most famous Croatian lifestyle magazine "Gloria" (1994).

Ksenija Renko is a Lifetime Honorary Member of the regional association PrOACTIVE CLUB PROven in ACTIon and Venture that gathers renowned public relations consultants and veterans. She is an Honorary Member of the Serbian Association of Public Relations, Vice President at the Institute for development of democracy and media “Denis Kuljiš,” and an Honorary Member of Jury BAPRA Bright Awards from Sofia, Bulgaria.