Transparency International (TI), an anti-corruption body, welcomed the adoption of a new European Union-wide anti-corruption package announced by the European Commission in June. This is according to TI a first step in responding to the issue of corruption in the EU.
The EUโs newly introduced reporting tool has the potential to encourage further anti-corruption efforts on the EU Member State level, said TI.<br><br>It is hoped that the new reporting tool may help reduce the risk of financial crises such as in Greece and Portugal. It may also assist in the assessment of a countryโs public finances for international aid packages, as undertaken by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Central Bank. However, in the long run, warns TI, there is an urgent need for a more comprehensive anti-corruption strategy encompassing all EU policies.<br><br>In detail, the package will include:<br><br> * A Communication on fighting corruption in the EU;<br> * A Commission Decision establishing an EU anti-corruption reporting mechanism;<br> * A report on the implementation of Council Framework Decision 2003/568/JHA on combating corruption in the private sector; and<br> * A report on the modalities of EU participation in the Council of Europe Group of States against Corruption (GRECO).<br><br>The new EU reporting tool across the EU27 will not replicate anti-corruption review mechanisms already existing under various international standards (UNCAC, OECD, GRECO) but will allow the Commission to evaluate Member Statesโ progress in upholding their commitments against corruption, highlight particular, country-specific areas of concern and, in so doing, increase the tools available for the Commission to tailor anti-corruption approaches at the Member State level.<br><br>Assessment results of the Unionโs anti-corruption reporting mechanism will allow the Union to take up a prominent political voice against corruption, integrity gaps and maladministration – all of which come at high cost for society. By so doing, the Commission is ultimately responding to the demands of citizens that want to see the EU lending more weight to the fight against corruption (see eg TI’s 2010 Global Corruption Barometer).<br><br>However, while the Communication shows increased political will in the fight against corruption, there is still says TI more work to be done in ensuring that this political will is matched by a coherent and comprehensive approach. <br><br>โAfter paving the way for a more concrete anti-corruption policy, it is now time to define the details and benchmarks of measurement if Member Statesโ anti-corruption efforts are to be evaluated properly,โ says Jana Mittermaier, Head of the TI-EU Office.<br><br>The bare minimum for EU anti-corruption action would be, at least, adds TI, to consolidate information on the implementation and enforcement of the already existing and binding international and regional anti-corruption instruments at Member State level. <br><br>โA regular report outlining corruption risk areas can act as an early-warning tool against future corruption-related crises across EU Member States and be a springboard towards fostering new developments,โ says Mittermaier.<br><br>To live up to EU citizensโ expectations and to tackle corruption in the European Union the Commission should apply a holistic approach, says TI, including:<br><br> * Simultaneous, timely assessment of the state of affairs of all 27 EU Member States;<br> * Flexible assessment of country-specific areas that are particularly prone to corruption;<br> * Consolidated information on Member Statesโ anti-corruption efforts (incl. UNCAC, OECD and GRECO review results) in a regional report, including all country-by-country reports;<br> * Effective in terms of publicly encouraging compliance by outlining corruption risks, trends and possible weaknesses and offering best practices and, thus, ideally foster exchange among EU Member States.<br><br>The EU says that four out of five EU citizens say corruption is a major problem in their country, underlining the need for a firmer political commitment to fight this crime and the economic, social and political harm it causes.<br><br>Bribes, kickbacks and illegal payments from individuals, businesses and organised crime bypass the democratic process, hamper the fair operation of the economy and penalise the honest.<br><br>Corruption is estimated the EU says to cost some โฌ120bn per year, about one per cent of the EU’s gross domestic product.<br><br>All EU countries have laws against corruption, but they are not always implemented consistently, the EU admits. To help focus efforts, European governments have given the Commission a political mandate to develop a common anti-corruption approach. Several countries have not implemented EU rules which make active and passive bribery by private companies a crime.
The European Commission is calling on them to do so. It also encourages EU countries that have not done so to ratify and implement anti-corruption agreements by the Council of Europe, the UN and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.
