Trump Takes U.S. Out of Another Controversial Global Organization
The United States will withdraw from the Council of Europe’s Group of States against Corruption, or GRECO, after more than 25 years of participation, the Council of Europe said. The departure takes effect Dec. 31.
The State Department said its review found that continued membership did not deliver enough national-security benefits to justify the financial and diplomatic commitment.
“The U.S. Department of State’s primary responsibility is to protect the American people,” a department spokesperson said.
The department said GRECO requires annual U.S. payments but “does not provide tangible benefits to U.S. national security.” It added: “The era of writing blank checks to international bureaucracies is over.”
The decision is part of President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s broader effort to reassess U.S. participation in international organizations based on what the administration sees as their value to American interests.
The Council of Europe established GRECO in 1999 to assess how well participating governments meet anti-corruption standards. The United States joined in 2000. Membership is not limited to Europe or the European Union: the United States and Kazakhstan have participated as non-European members.
Governments in GRECO undergo periodic reviews of their laws, institutions and enforcement practices. The organization issues recommendations and follows up to assess whether they have been implemented. Its work covers conflicts of interest, government ethics, financial disclosures, judicial independence, law enforcement integrity and measures to prevent corruption among senior officials.
The United States took part in several rounds of evaluations. GRECO’s fifth review examined integrity and corruption prevention among senior executive branch officials and federal law enforcement agencies. Earlier rounds covered political financing, corruption offenses, prosecutors and judges.
A prior GRECO assessment said the United States had fully implemented recommendations from its first evaluation. Reported compliance in later rounds varied: 87% in the second, 44% in the third and 75% in the fourth.
The administration says leaving GRECO does not mean abandoning international anti-corruption efforts. The State Department said it plans to focus resources on initiatives with more direct national-security or economic benefits, naming sanctions, visa restrictions and targeted foreign assistance as preferred tools. Those measures, the department said, can target specific foreign officials, businesses or organizations accused of corruption.
The administration described those policies as “higher-impact tools” for addressing corruption that threatens American security and economic interests.
The Council of Europe expressed regret over the U.S. departure and praised Washington’s participation.
“The United States has participated in GRECO since 2000 and has been a valuable contributor to its work and to the exchange of experience and good practice in preventing and combating corruption,” the organization said.
It also said the door remains open to future cooperation.
“GRECO remains open to resuming cooperation with the United States in the future in support of shared efforts to prevent corruption, strengthen integrity and uphold the rule of law,” the organization added.
The withdrawal reflects a broader Trump administration policy of reviewing international commitments through the lens of their direct value to the United States. The administration has argued that America contributes disproportionate funding and resources to international organizations without receiving comparable benefits.