158th CoR Plenary Session (29-30 November 2023)

Rapporteur: VANRAES Jean-Luc, Commission: CIVEX
The Opinion calls for addressing the corruption threat in the national public institutions at all levels of governance – local, regional, national and EU, as the citizens expect high standards of probity from public officials. The CoR approves the general objective of the anti-corruption directive to harmonise the relevant legislation across the Member States but warns that the full implementation of the directive into national criminal law will be a difficult and long-lasting process considering subsidiarity and proportionality issues.

On May 2023 the European Commission took decisive action to fight corruption in the EU and worldwide, delivering on the commitment made by President von der Leyen in her 2022 State of the Union address. The anti-corruption proposals presented represent a milestone in the fight against corruption at national and EU level. The Commission will step up its action: building on measures in place, strengthening efforts to integrate the prevention of corruption into the design of EU policies and programs, and actively supporting Member States' work to put in place strong anti-corruption policies and legislation.

Corruption is a multi-sector phenomenon, present both in the public and private sector, and in the political arena. While corruption can take the form of petty crime or complex high-level corruption, it can also hide behind favouritism and nepotism, conflicts of interest and revolving doors – where business meets politics. The European Commission (EC) has been given a political mandate to measure efforts in the fight against corruption and to develop a comprehensive EU anti-corruption policy. On 3 May 2023, the European Commission adopted anti-corruption measures. This includes a proposal for a new Directive on combating corruption by criminal law. It aims to update and harmonise EU rules on definitions and penalties for corruption offences to ensure high standards against the full range of corruption crimes. It provides also for corruption prevention [...]

Corruption poses a significant threat in the European Union and can contribute towards an erosion of democracy and the rule of law, especially during times of crisis. The European Union can do more to tackle corruption and curb its negative impacts on society. This report presents a quantitative analysis of the potential gains from further EU action to tackle corruption , estimating that it could generate up to €58.5 billion per year. Other gains could also be expected in terms of reinforcing democracy and promoting international credibility and long-term growth.

Corruption, and particularly grand corruption relating to government officials, has a harmful effect on democracy, the rule of law, human rights, security, the eradication of poverty, and sustainable development, all objectives of the EU's external action. Corruption in third countries can also affect the functioning of EU democracy with flows of money buying political influence in the EU. In her 2022 State of the Union address, the European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, proposed to include corruption in the EU's human rights sanctions regime [...]

Momentum is building globally for the establishment of an International Anti-Corruption Court, which would have jurisdiction over acts of grand corruption and fill the domestic accountability vacuum in kleptocratic regimes. Before such an institution can become reality, though, a number of practical, political and legal concerns will have to be addressed, for instance in relation to state ratification and cooperation. Hence, this Briefing identifies key issues which the European Parliament should assess and consider when forming its position. However, irrespective of its support for an International Anti-Corruption Court, the European Parliament may also want to strengthen other mechanisms enhancing legal accountability, such as existing international courts or extraterritorial jurisdiction. It may also continue to promote more indirect tools for advancing the fight against impunity such as anti-corruption clauses in trade agreements, targeted sanctions, and global asset recovery.

Corruption is a major challenge for the European Union (EU), with all its Member States affected by the problem to some extent. Its scale, however, is difficult to measure both in Europe and elsewhere. Surveys on the perception of corruption among citizens and experts – such as the Global Corruption Barometer and Eurobarometers – are the principal measurement tool. Since the 1990s, countries around the world have joined efforts to address corruption collectively. This has led to the emergence of widely recognised international laws and standards, adopted in particular by the Council of Europe, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the United Nations. Mechanisms, such as the Council of Europe Group of States against Corruption (GRECO), have been developed to monitor implementation of these rules. The EU has gradually adopted laws addressing a range of corruption-related issues. These include a Directive on the Fight against Fraud to the Union's Financial Interests, as well as directives on public procurement, whistleblowers and money-laundering [...]

While the European Union is plagued by considerable social and economic inequality, not least in the wake of both the enlargement of the Union and the financial crises, we know surprisingly little about the sources of public support for redistribution and the EU:s most significant tool for reducing inequalities: Cohesion Policy. The authors suggest that, while identity, ideology and utilitarian concerns may motivate support for international redistribution, such support is highly contingent on perceptions of domestic corruption. Using unique and newly collected survey data, they show that perceptions of domestic corruption increase support for within-EU redistribution but only in contexts where the quality of government is low and public service delivery deficient [...]

The EU has made effective corruption control a condition for membership, but it cannot sanction non-compliance once a country has joined. The Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM) was an institutional experiment to compensate the loss of sanctioning power after accession with continued monitoring. Most commentators dismiss the potential of such monitoring without enforcement. This article’s original coding of the CVM reports with regard to corruption control in Romania and Bulgaria provides an empirical basis to assess the CVM’s ability to foster compliance.

The commentators of Regulation Tomorrow provide their views on how the Directive proposed by the European commission on 3rd may 2023 will affect multinational companies.