Corruption in Europe costs the European Union’s economy at least ┬ú99bn a year, according to the European Commission.
A report, released late last week by the Commission, studied all 28 EU member states to measure the level of corruption across Europe, and provided a stark overview of the level of white collar crime across the continent. Furthermore, whilst the cost of corruption is estimated at ┬ú99bn (120bn Euros), various economic experts have claimed that the CommissionÔÇÖs estimate is likely to be a conservative one.
EU Home Affairs Commissioner Cecila Malmstroem stated that corruption within Europe is alarming, although it can differ significantly between countries; ÔÇ£The extent of the problem in Europe is breath-taking. The political commitment to really root out corruption seems to be missing.ÔÇØ
Eastern European countries including Lithuania and Croatia were among a group which fared particularly badly in the report, with the European Commission stating that ÔÇ£In these countries, between 6 and 29 percent of respondents indicated that they were asked or expected to pay a bribe in the past 12 months, while from 84 percent up to 99 percent think that corruption is widespread in their country.ÔÇØ
Greece, Spain and Italy also fared poorly in the study. In contrast however, the report established that little corruption has been found in the UK, with less than 1% of respondents claiming that they had been expected to pay a bribe. Only Finland and Denmark bettered the UK, with the report stating that ÔÇ£traditionally, the UK promotes high ethical standards of public service.ÔÇØ
In order to fight back against corruption, the commission said that better standards of control and integrity are needed to decrease the problem, with investigations varying in quality from country to country.
Four out of ten companies surveyed for the report stated that corruption is a major obstacle for business whilst operating in Europe and urged the commission to counter the problem.
The EU will produce a second report in 2016. In the meantime the European Commission will work with member states to reduce white collar crime. Malmstrom commented that ÔÇ£There are no corruption-free zones in Europe. We are not doing enough. ThatÔÇÖs true for all member states.ÔÇØ
The news is sure to be welcomed by anti-EU nationalist parties such as UKIP and the National Front in France. With European Parliamentary elections in May, news of widescale corruption throughout the continent is likely to boost their already high poll numbers.
Joe Paley
Add Comment