What happens when a weak anti-corruption system meets a strong desire to corrupt?
The answer was obvious once the general shape of the European Parliament scandal became clear—that a Gulf state has apparently bank-rolled a web of corruption and bribery in the EU's only directly-elected institution.
The revelations have led to predictable expressions of shock and horror and rapid attempts to shore up the gaps in the parliament's weak anti-corruption architecture.
One of the...
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Emily O'Reilly is the European Ombudsman, responsible for investigation maladministration within the EU institutions.