Monday

4th Dec 2023

EU not tackling corruption in east, say justice experts

  • A view of Zagreb, where EU leverage against organised crime and widespread corruption is not working properly, according to a panel of justice experts. (Photo: Wikipedia)

The EU should use the most of its pre-accession leverage in pushing countries to reform and deliver results in the fight against corruption and organised crime before they join the club, not to repeat the experience of Romania and Bulgaria, who are still struggling with these issues two years after accession, a panel of European justice experts told a conference in the European Parliament.

EU member states Romania and Bulgaria have more in common with candidate countries such as Croatia and other potential candidates in the western Balkans than just a shared Communist past, said a range of jurists and commentators brought together under at the International Leaders' Summit, a talk-fest organised by conservative US and European think-tanks, including the Cato Institute and the Heritage Foundation.

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 speakers said that much of the east is also afflicted by "widespread corruption", "organised crime", conflicts of interests and unjustifiable wealth of senior officials, lack of political accountability and a culture of impunity in public administration.

The list of criticisms was long, but, they declared, the EU seems ill equipped to do something about it.

"There are clear regional characteristics that appear across eastern Europe and the risk is that the lessons we learn in one country as it develops are not transferred to the next country," British prosecutor Rupert Vining said.

"We repeatedly see difficulties around party finances," he continued. "We also see the issue of possession of unexplained wealth by senior public figures."

Mr Vining worked as an expert on combating corruption in "peer review" missions on behalf of the European Commission to assess the situation in Romania and Bulgaria during their accession process, as well as in the now candidate country Croatia and potential candidate Montenegro.

He told the audience that he had thought before he went that it would be difficult to explain to the people in the region what unjustified assets meant and how they could be dealt with.

"But instead, I had no difficulty at all, because in each country I worked, people could immediately think of examples of who had what and how they couldn't possibly afford it on the €300 to €600 salary they were earning per month," Mr Vining said.

The British prosecutor stressed that the EU does not have unified rules and procedures on issues such as party financing. Still, that was no reason not to reform and impose as much transparency as possible, he said, because there was a "new era now, and people in the EU are getting tired of accession candidates who don't apply the appropriate standards and then backslide when they join the EU."

At the same time, Mr Vining argued that it was not realistic to believe that accession candidate countries can "fry the big fish", or deliver convictions in complex cases of high-level corruption in the very short time frame ahead of accession, especially since the people concerned are in power or connected to high-ranking officials.

Monica Macovei, a former Romanian justice minister acclaimed by the European Commission and the European Parliament for her reforms on the eve of EU accession, also stressed the difficulties of "fighting political corruption in a country where corrupt politicians have the power to change laws and adopt measures to protect themselves."

The former minister, a member of no political party and fired just four months after accession during a cabinet reshuffle, said that after Romania joined the EU, the politicians started to "undo" the reforms started only a couple of years before.

Ms Macovei said the pre-accession period was the only time the EU had enough leverage to push for actual reforms and obtain first results.

Yet a Croatian panelist, Natasha Srdoc from the pro-free-market Adriatic Institute of Public Policy, denounced the "very soft report" published by the European Commission earlier this month on the progress of her country.

She criticised the perspective of concluding negotiations by the end of 2009 - a schedule suggested by enlargement commissioner Olli Rehn, and denounced the recent contract killings of critical journalists, and the "widespread corruption" noted in the commission report.

She also warned of the strength of organised crime in the country, saying there was a "much stronger underground network than in Serbia, [and this] includes the intelligence services."

"There is not enough pressure now to reform before accession to the EU and NATO. Once a country is in the EU, the chances for reforms are lost," Ms Srdoc said, demanding "international monitoring" of Croatia, as the authorities were, in her view, incapable of dealing with these challenges.

Murder of Croatian reporter undermines EU hopes

Following the killing of a prominent investigative reporter, Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader has vowed to put a stop to mafia-style attacks in order to save the country's EU bid.

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

Why Spain's amnesty deal with Catalans is source of resentment

Spain's new amnesty law for Catalan separatists has sparked protests across the country, fueling concerns about the rule of law, judicial independence, and accountability. But why is the bill so problematic? And who opposes it?

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-China summit and migration files in focus This WEEK
  2. COP28 debates climate finance amid inflated accounting ‘mess’
  3. Why EU's €18m for Israel undermines peace
  4. Israel's EU ambassador: 'No clean way to do this operation'
  5. Brussels denies having no 'concern' on Spain's amnesty law
  6. Dubai's COP28 — a view from the ground
  7. Germany moves to criminalise NGO search-and-rescue missions
  8. Israel recalls ambassador to Spain in new diplomatic spat

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

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. European Citizen's InitiativeThe European Commission launches the ‘ImagineEU’ competition for secondary school students in the EU.
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersThe Nordic Region is stepping up its efforts to reduce food waste
  3. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  4. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersGlobal interest in the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations – here are the speakers for the launch
  6. Nordic Council of Ministers20 June: Launch of the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us