Bericht der EU-Kommission zu Korruption in der Europäischen Union, 3.2.2014 (engl. Originalfassung)
Policy background and objectives of the Report
Corruption seriously harms the economy and society as a whole. Many countries around the world suffer from deep-rooted corruption that hampers economic development, undermines democracy, and damages social justice and the rule of law. The Member States of the EU are not immune to this reality. Corruption varies in nature and extent from one country to another, but it affects all Member States. It impinges on good governance, sound management of public money, and competitive markets. In extreme cases, it undermines the trust of citizens in democratic institutions and processes.
This Report provides an analysis of corruption within the EU’s Member States and of the steps taken to prevent and fight it. It aims to launch a debate involving the Commission, Member States, the European Parliament and other stakeholders, to assist the anti-corruption work and to identify ways in which the European dimension can help.
EU Member States have in place most of the necessary legal instruments and institutions to prevent and fight corruption. However, the results they deliver are not satisfactory across the EU. Anti-corruption rules are not always vigorously enforced, systemic problems are not tackled effectively enough, and the relevant institutions do not always have sufficient capacity to enforce the rules. Declared intentions are still too distant from concrete results, and genuine political will to eradicate corruption often appears to be missing.
To ensure an EU contribution, the Commission adopted the Communication on Fighting Corruption in the EU in June 2011, establishing the EU Anti-Corruption Report to monitor and assess Member States’ efforts in this area with a view to stronger political engagement to address corruption effectively. The report is hereby published now for the first time; further reports will be issued every two years.
In line with international legal instruments, this report defines corruption in a broad sense as any ‘abuse of power for private gain’. It therefore covers specific acts of corruption and those measures that Member States take specifically to prevent or punish corrupt acts as defined by the law, and also mentions a range of areas and measures which impact on the risk of corruption occurring and on the capacity to control it.
The report focuses on selected key issues of particular relevance to each Member State. It describes good practices as well as weaknesses, and identifies steps which will allow Member States to address corruption more effectively. The Commission recognises that some of these issues are solely national competence. It is, however, in the Union’s common interest to ensure that all Member States have efficient anti-corruption policies and that the EU supports the Member States in pursuing this work. The report therefore seeks to promote high anti- corruption standards across the EU. By highlighting problems – as well as good practices – found inside the EU, the report also lends credibility to the EU’s efforts to promote anti- corruption standards elsewhere.
Corruption is a complex phenomenon with economic, social, political and cultural dimensions, which cannot be easily eliminated. An effective policy response cannot be reduced to a standard set of measures; there is no ‘one size fits all’ solution. The report therefore examines corruption within the national context of each Member State, and suggests how the most relevant issues for each Member State can be addressed in the national context.
Further explanation about the methodology of the report is provided in the Annex.
The wider policy context
The financial crisis has put additional pressure on Europeans and their governments. In the face of the current economic challenges both in Europe and elsewhere, stronger guarantees of integrity and transparency of public expenditure are required. Citizens expect the EU to play an important role in helping Member States to protect the licit economy against organised crime, financial and tax fraud, money laundering and corruption, not least in times of economic crisis and budgetary austerity. Corruption alone is estimated to cost the EU economy EUR 120 billion per year, just a little less than the annual budget of the European Union.
Europe 2020 is the EU’s growth strategy over the present decade to foster a smart, sustainable and inclusive economy, thus helping the EU and its Member States to deliver high levels of employment, productivity and social cohesion. Research suggests that the success of the Europe 2020 strategy also depends on institutional factors such as good governance, rule of law, and control of corruption. Fighting corruption contributes to the EU’s competitiveness in the global economy. In that context, anti-corruption measures have been highlighted with respect to a number of Member States as part of the European Semester – a yearly cycle of economic policy coordination involving a detailed analysis of Member States’ programmes for economic and structural reform as well as country-specific recommendations. More generally, improving the efficiency of public administration, especially if combined with greater transparency, can help mitigate corruption-related risks. The Commission Communication for a European Industrial Renaissance of January 2014 therefore places emphasis on quality public administration as an important aspect of the EU’s growth strategy.
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Future steps and follow-up
The points for further attention set out in each country chapter reflect the Commission’s attempt to identify measures likely to give added value in addressing key outstanding issues in regard to preventing and fighting corruption. They are tailored to the context and needs of each country. They are concrete and targeted, without going into excessive detail, and aimed at tangible changes on the ground. The report, where relevant, draws on and supports recommendations already formulated by other corruption reporting mechanisms (notably Council of Europe’s Group of States against Corruption – GRECO – and OECD), some of which have not yet been followed by Member States.
As follow-up to the report, the Commission wishes to engage in a constructive, forward- looking debate on the best ways to address corruption, notably on the points that it has identified for further attention. The Commission hopes to see a wide debate about anti- corruption measures with active participation of the Member States, the European Parliament, national parliaments, the private sector and civil society, and looks forward to itself actively participating in discussions both at EU level and in Member States.
Additionally, the Commission intends to put in place a mutual experience-sharing programme for Member States, local NGOs and other stakeholders to identify best practices and overcome shortcomings in anti-corruption policies, raise awareness or provide training. These efforts should be linked to the issues for attention contained in the report, and facilitate the follow-up action. The mutual experience-sharing programme will be launched after the adoption of the report, building on feedback received and discussion with stakeholders on the specific needs that it could address.
The Commission intends to carefully analyse feedback in relation to this first report, reflect on possible gaps and errors, and draw lessons for the second report. The methodology will be reviewed, and additional consideration will be given to the possibility of developing new corruption indicators.
Future work will look into issues like how the measures suggested in this first report were implemented, and take the stock of the experience-sharing programme.
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