Friday

8th Dec 2023

€120 billion lost to corruption in EU each year

  • 'Deep-rooted corruption is a part of reality in many countries,' says EU home affairs commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom (Photo: European Commission)

An estimated €120 billion is lost to corruption each year throughout the 27 member states, the EU commissioner for home affairs Cecilia Malmstrom has said.

“In public procurement, studies suggest that up to 20 to 25 percent of the public contracts’ value may be lost to corruption,” said Malmstrom on Tuesday (5 March) at an anti-corruption seminar in Göteborg, Sweden.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

The Berlin-based Transparency International (TI) noted in a report out in the 2012 that the worse offenders in public procurement cases are Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Italy, Romania and Slovakia.

Public procurement contracts in the EU have an estimated worth of around 15 percent of the EU’s total GDP.

But EU legislation designed to ensure good governance on the contracts are often flouted, says TI. In some cases, the complexities of the laws and administrative burdens provide an additional incentive to find loopholes.

As an example, the transparency group found that three out of five managers of small companies in the Czech Republic believe they have to resort to bribery and kickbacks to win a public contract.

Europe’s poorest nation Bulgaria does not publish final procurement contracts. This practice is also common in Italy, notes the group.

In some cases, member states rolled back progress on fighting corruption after joining the Union.

TI says corruption-fighting practices in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia have all weakened since EU accession.

It also notes that Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain have serious deficits in public sector accountability.

“The links between corruption and ongoing-financial and fiscal crisis in these countries can no longer be ignored,” says TI.

The European Commission hopes to spur political will among member state leaders to tackle the problem by publishing an anti-corruption report later this year.

The report will address corruption trends across the EU and the policies in place to fight it.

Malmstrom said the report, by rendering public corruption practices in individual member states, will “to some extent, stimulate political commitment to fight corruption more vigorously.”

Meanwhile, Finland on Tuesday cited corruption as the primary reason why it too, along with Germany, will block Romania and Bulgaria’s bid to join the passport-free Schengen zone, reports Finish state-broadcaster Yle.

“Too many questions were left unanswered which we now have to deal with,” said Finland’s Interior minister Päivi Räsänen.

EU ministers of interior are meeting in Brussels on Thursday and Friday to discuss the issue, among others.

Germany to veto Schengen enlargement

Germany says it will veto Romania and Bulgaria's bid to join the border-free Schengen area at a meeting in Brussels later this week.

Orban's sovereignty bill seen as fresh attack on rule of law

Hungary's new sovereignty law has been criticised by the opposition as 'another dark milestone' for the country's democratic values and the rule of law — and it could bring yet another clash between Budapest and Brussels.

Analysis

How Wilders' Dutch extremism goes way beyond Islamophobia

Without losing sight of his pervasive Islamophobia, it is essential to note Geert Wilders' far-right extremism extends to other issues that could drastically alter the nature of Dutch politics — and end its often constructive role in advancing EU policies.

Latest News

  1. EU suggests visa-bans on Israeli settlers, following US example
  2. EU ministers prepare for all-night fiscal debate
  3. Spain's Nadia Calviño backed to be EIB's first female chief
  4. Is there hope for the EU and eurozone?
  5. Crunch talks seek breakthrough on EU asylum overhaul
  6. Polish truck protest at Ukraine border disrupts war supplies
  7. 'Green' banks lend most to polluters, reveals ECB
  8. Tense EU-China summit showdown unlikely to bear fruit

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  3. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  4. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?
  5. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsThis autumn Europalia arts festival is all about GEORGIA!
  6. UNOPSFostering health system resilience in fragile and conflict-affected countries

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us