There is a range of commonly agreed standards against corruption in the funding of political parties and electoral campaigns (which are recommended to also apply to entities related to political parties, such as political foundations). They were set by the Parliamentary Assembly Recommendation 1516 (2001) on the financing of political parties and followed upon by the Committee of Ministers Recommendation Rec(2003)4 on common rules against corruption in the funding of political parties and electoral campaigns. The standards to be applied include (a.) requirements on a reasonable balance between public and private funding of political parties; (b.) the use of fair criteria for the distribution of state contributions to parties; (c.) imposition of strict rules concerning private donations including bans on or limitations of contributions from foreign donors, religious organisations and restrictions on corporations and anonymous donations; (d.) limitations on parties’ expenditures linked to election campaigns; (e.) provisions on transparency of donations and expenses of political parties; and (f.) the establishment of an independent authority and meaningful sanctions for those who violate the rules.