US withdraws from European anti-corruption panel in latest shift away from global groups

The Trump administration has formally notified the Council of Europe that the United States will withdraw from its role in the Group of States against Corruption, or GRECO. This marks the latest in a series of moves by the administration to distance itself from international and multilateral organizations, citing issues with their mandates, efficiency, and alignment with U.S. policies.

Only Russia and Belarus have left GRECO prior to the U.S. Among the reasons cited for the withdrawal is the State Department's assertion that U.S. participation in GRECO, which includes an annual financial contribution, does not offer tangible benefits to U.S. national security. Instead, the department is focusing on higher-impact tools to combat corruption, such as visa restrictions, sanctions, and targeted foreign assistance to strengthen investigations into corruption threatening U.S. security and prosperity.

The Council of Europe praised the U.S. as a "valuable contributor" to GRECO in the past but stated that the organization remains open to resuming cooperation with the U.S. in the future. The decision to withdraw comes a week after the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe announced that the U.S. had declined to invite its members to observe the November midterm elections, representing a significant shift from the group's previous practice.

The U.S. has already withdrawn from several European-based UN and multilateral agencies, including the World Health Organization and the UN Human Rights Council, and is currently considering additional such disengagements. In January, the U.S. withdrew from another Council of Europe panel, the Venice Commission, which serves as an advisory body on constitutional law.

GRECO was established in 1999 by the Council of Europe to monitor adherence to the organization's anti-corruption standards, and U.S. membership was initiated a year after the body's founding.