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Showing posts with label EU Anti-Corruption Report. Show all posts
Showing posts with label EU Anti-Corruption Report. Show all posts

February 11, 2014

EU Anti-Corruption Report shows corruption in the EU amounts to more than 120 billion euros a year:

Corruption is widespread in the EU even in the Netherlands
Corruption continues to be a challenge for Europe. Affecting all EU Member States, corruption costs the European economy around 120 billion euros per year. Member States have taken many initiatives in recent years, but the results are uneven and more should be done to prevent and punish corruption. These are some of the conclusions from the first ever EU Anti-Corruption Report published recently by the European Commission.

The EU Anti-Corruption Report explains the situation in each Member State: what anti-corruption measures are in place, which ones are working well, what could be improved and how. National chapters in English and in national languages are available here: http://ec.europa.eu/anti-corruption-report

The report shows that both the nature and level of corruption, and the effectiveness of measures taken to fight it, vary from one Member State to another. It also shows that corruption deserves greater attention in all Member States.

Corruption is taking place in every EU member state from North to South . Even in unsuspected countries like the Netherlands.  In the report the Commission suggests that the Netherlands should focus some of their efforts also on prosecuting cases of corruption in international business transactions, by increasing the capacity to proactively investigate foreign bribery.

More than three quarters of European citizens, and 61 percent of the Dutch, agree that corruption is widespread in their home country. Four percent of Europeans, and two percent of the Dutch, say that they have been asked or expected to pay a bribe in the past year.

This trend is also illustrated by the results of a Eurobarometer survey on the attitudes of Europeans towards corruption published today. The survey shows that three quarters (76%) of Europeans think that corruption is now  widespread and more than half (56%) think that the level of corruption in their country has increased over the past three years. One out of twelve Europeans (8%) say they have experienced or witnessed a case of corruption in the past year. Eurobarometer results are available here.

"Corruption undermines citizens' confidence in democratic institutions and the rule of law, it hurts the European economy and deprives States from much-needed tax revenue. Member States have done a lot in recent years to fight corruption, but today’s Report shows that it is far from enough. The Report suggests what can be done, and I look forward to working with Member States to follow it up", said Cecilia Malmström, EU Commissioner for Home Affairs.

"Being a politician has unfortunately also become a profitable business opportunity for many of our European political elite, including some of our very own here in Holland. Instead of serving their constituents they are in politics to enrich themselves", said a housewife in the town of Almere in the Netherlands 

Read more: EUROPA - PRESS RELEASES - Press release - Commission unveils first EU Anti-Corruption report 

EU-Digest