TI national chapters act as the civil society voice against corruption in their respective countries. In addition, they play an important role in contributing to regional and global programmes coordinated by the TI Secretariat.

The Europe and Central Asia department at the TI Secretariat exists to support national level anti-corruption efforts of the national chapters and acts as the link between the national chapters and other TI Secretariat staff coordinating regional or global programmes.

Transparency International has identified three priority areas in order to better fight corruption in the region:

1. Supporting and strengthening the capacity-building of national chapters in the region
2. Advocating against corruption at the European Union (EU) level
3. Promoting TI's Advocacy and Legal Advice Centres (ALAC)

A network of 40 TI national chapters and national contact groups is leading the fight against corruption in the Europe and Central Asia region. The members of the network meet once a year at TI's Europe and Central Asia Regional Meeting to discuss key issues for the region and to agree on strategic action points for future work. The most recent Regional Meeting was hosted by TI Azerbaijan in Baku from 31 May – 2 June 2007 and was launched with a one-day, high-profile international conference, Combating Corruption and Reforming Institutions in Transition Economies.

The objective of TI's advocacy work at EU level is to promote anti-corruption policies at the EU-level. To find out more about TI's work at EU level, please go to the Brussels Office.

Transparency International’s Advocacy and Legal Advice Centres (ALACs) reject the notion that people are apathetic in the face of corruption. Rather, they demonstrate that they will become involved in the fight against corruption when they are provided with simple, credible and viable mechanisms for doing so. ALACs empower citizens in the fight against corruption by providing victims of corruption with practical assistance to pursue complaints and address their grievances. The ALACs also offer valuable data collection to help advocate for systemic change.

While the ALACs are essentially a grass-roots approach to fighting corruption, they also generate a unique and precious profile about the actual workings of corruption and how it impacts upon the lives of ordinary citizens. Analysis of the corruption-related complaints identifies ‘soft points’ in the system which allow corruption to flourish. This provides the ALACs with clear and specific advocacy targets, meaning that the concerns of ordinary citizens can be translated into systemic change.
An Advocacy and Legal Advice Centre has four main components:

1. Toll-free hotline where victims of corruption can receive initial advice about their rights and, where prima facie evidence of corruption exists, a referral for further legal counselling;
2. Legal advice provided with the assistance of legal professionals employed by the centres helps victims articulate, develop, file and pursue their complaints;
3. Advocacy work based on the cases presented to the centres. This helps to raise awareness of the sectors and institutions which are the subject of most complaints, for example through media statements (e.g., press releases showing statistical breakdowns of complaints received), to highlight attention to specific institutional and legal vulnerabilities and to provide recommendations for improvement;
4. Capacity building support for state authorities to process complaints.

There are currently 16 ALACs in 12 countries in Eastern Europe, the Balkans and the South Caucasus.

Transparency International seeks to significantly expand the number and location of ALACs, as it believes that the strategy marks an extremely important development in the fight against corruption. For more information, read the ALAC Project Brief, or the report of an independent evaluation of the ALACs.