EU institutions are vulnerable to corruption due to loopholes and poor enforcement of rules on ethics, transparency and financial control.
This is one of the main findings in the first – ever assessment of corruption risks across 10 EU institutions. The EU Integrity System report comes ahead of the 2014 EU elections at a time when the EU has been dogged by perceptions of corruption, with a recent survey showing that 70 per cent of the public believe it is present in the institutions.
“The EU institutions have done a lot to put their house in order in recent years but strong foundations are being undermined by complex rules, complacency, and a lack of follow up ,” said Carl Dolan, Director of the Transparency International EU Office.
Contrary to popular perception, the Transparency International report highlights a range of rules and practices that support high standards of public service and accountability within the EU’s bodies. These include channels to investigate suspected fraud or maladministration, the ability of the public to access documents held by EU institutions, or to request judicial review of decisions affecting them.
Nonetheless, major flaws in the system can still be seen, such as in the absence of mandatory lobbying rules at the EU level, and the growing trend of EU institutions to negotiate laws behind closed doors. When it comes to ensuring senior decision- makers comply with ethics rules, such as ‘cooling-off’ periods when they leave office, self-regulation, rather than independent monitoring, is the norm.
Please find the full report here .