eu accession/2006/in focus/news room

Corruption and the EU Accession Process

“It is the judiciary reform and fight against corruption and crime that are the critical yardsticks.”

Olli Rehn, Commissioner for Enlargement at the European Commission. Strasbourg, 03 April 2006.

Click here to read the TI recommendations
DownloadTI background paper "Corruption and the EU Accession Process"
Read the paper online

Summary

The eastern enlargement of the European Union began in the early nineties with the negotiation of the European Partnerships between the EU and the prospective Member States. At the beginning of the process, corruption was largely overlooked for various reasons, including limited recognition of the damage caused by corruption, the absence of comprehensive anti-corruption standards in the EU itself, and the underestimation of the extent to which corruption would emerge as a characteristic of post-communist transition.

TI-Moldova "Artists against Corruption"

In Agenda 2000 (1997) the European Commission first highlighted corruption as an issue in the Accession process and since then has insisted on adoption of increasingly rigorous anti-corruption standards in the Candidate countries.

In Bulgaria and Romania corruption is a key issue in Accession negotiations. TI National Chapters, TI Bulgaria and TI Romania have successfully campaigned for anti-corruption legislation, drafted laws, assisted citizens affected by corruption, and latterly monitored enforcement of new anti-corruption standards. Although corruption remains a problem in both countries, neither Chapter recommends postponement of membership. Both feel that there is a clear need for implementation of newly adopted standards and anti-corruption strategies, especially after Accession.

In this piece, TI takes a broader look at the issue, seeking to extrapolate lessons learned from the first and second rounds of Eastern Enlargement which can then be applied in future Accession processes. EU membership is now a target for the countries of South East Europe, and Turkey is finally a Candidate country. The Commission has identified corruption as one of the largest hurdles for the countries to overcome.

Here, TI argues for mainstreaming anti-corruption into the EU Accession process, that is, the comprehensive application of an anti-corruption approach. Corruption hampers attempts to meet all three of the Copenhagen Criteria for membership of the EU.

It is also important that the EU’s own anti-corruption standards are rigorous: if anti-corruption policy is viewed as indispensable to democracy then it should apply equally in EU member states. If anti-corruption standards are not adopted and enforced in EU member states, then the EU’s attempt to promote democratic values beyond its borders is undermined and there is a risk that standards fall after a country accedes.

At a glance – Information on corruption in Bulgaria and Romania

National Integrity Country Studies
Corruption Perception Index 2005
National Corruption Report Romania

Romania_National_Corruption_Report_2006.doc 237.50 kB
Global Corruption Barometer (including Romania) 2005
Further surveys on corruption in Romania

Corruption Perception Index (CPI) – score ranging between 10 (highly clean) and 1 (highly corrupt) as perceived by business people and country analysts (Romania and Bulgaria highlighted)

TI’s recommendations for mainstreaming anti-corruption in the EU Accession process:

Clear commitment to mainstreaming anti-corruption, i.e. incorporation of rigorous anti-corruption measures into all reform processes.
Concrete anti-corruption standards, including indicators and benchmarks, for candidate countries.
The EU to strive for equal and fair treatment of candidate countries, and seeks to avoid generating competition between states.
Greater emphasis on measurable implementation, not just adoption, of anti-corruption standards.
Transparent and rigorous monitoring by independent bodies, including civil society, of progress towards accession AND of the Accession process itself.
Use of a broad definition of corruption, which encompasses notions of state capture, embedded networks of power, trading in influence, etc, thus going beyond a focus on bribery.
Greater transparency in the management of EU funds to help prevent corruption.
Avoidance of double standards: the EU’s own new anti-corruption measures to be implemented in Member States.

Read the sections of TI background paper "Corruption and the EU Accession Process" online:

I Introduction: Anti-Corruption policy in the EU Accession Process
II Why anti-corruption policy should be an integral part of the Accession process
III The EU’s approach to corruption in Accession and in Member States
IV In the news Bulgaria and Romania: Is corruption a reason to defer entry?
V The broader picture: Western Balkans, Turkey and beyond
VI Using the conditionality of the EU Accession Process
VII Incorporating anti-corruption into the Accession process
VIII TI’s work on corruption and the EU Accession process
IX Selected links and readings

Selected Links and Readings

Related/further readings

Background EU enlargement: Accession countries

Delegation of the European Commission to Bulgaria – key documents
European Commission May 2006 Monitoring Report on Bulgaria
European Commission May 2006 Monitoring Report on Romania
EU and Bulgaria
EBRD Transition Report 2005
eumap.org – Monitoring the EU accession process, corruption and anti-corruption policy (2002)
EU Enlargement website
TI press release 2001 – Corruption still hampering EU accession process
Croatian opinion on the EU’s Copenhagen Criteria

Selected media coverage

EU makeover time for Romania, 28 April 2006, BBC
EU Says Romania, Bulgaria Made `Enormous Progress' (Update1), 26 April 2006, Bloomberg

Bloomberg_Ro-BG-progress_26Apr06.doc 32.00 kB
Organised crime clouds Bulgaria's EU accession, 26 April 2006, Financial Times

FT_Organised_crime_clouds_BG-accession_26Apr06.doc 28.00 kB
Barbed wire and bridges: The Balkans will continue to fragment unless the EU makes cooperation a condition of membership, 26 April 2006, Guardian (UK)

Guardian_fragmentingBalkan_26Apr06.doc 27.00 kB
Constitutional Reform Falters, 26 April 2006, TOL

TOL_ConstitutionalReform_BiH_27Apr06.doc 39.00 kB
Members and Guests Only? 20 April, TOL

TOL_Members&Guests_Only_20Apr06.doc 47.00 kB
The Cost of Entry, 12 April 2006, TOL

TOL_Cost_of_Entry_12Apr06.doc 32.50 kB
Rehn says EU borders are not fixed, 10 April 2006, EU Observer

EU-Observer_Rehn_EUborders_not_fixed_10Apr06.doc 26.00 kB
Commissioner stresses importance of EU for reforms in Western Balkans, 04 April 2006, BBC Monitoring

BBCMonitoringEu_11Apr06.doc 30.00 kB
NGO: No coherent mechanism for preventing corruption, Bukarest Daily News

TI-Ro_call-for-monitoring_2May06.doc 37.50 kB
The Slovene government wants lawmakers to fight corruption, not the independent body created for the job, 13 February 2006, TOL

TOL_BodyCheck_Slovenia_13Febr06.doc 30.00 kB
The Persistence of Scandal, 23 January 2006, TOL

TOL_Nastase_23Jan06.doc 40.50 kB
Pride and Relief, 19 December 2005, TOL

TOL_Macedonia_19Dec05.doc 36.50 kB

Media Contacts

Conny Abel
Tel: +49-30-3438 20-19/45
Fax: +49-30-3470 3912
press@transparency.org

Catherine Woollard
Tel: +49-30-3438 20-528
Fax: +49-30-3470 3912
cwoollard@transparency.org

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