BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) – In the future, the EU countries want to combat corruption with uniform minimum standards. For the first time, the laws of the EU countries should determine uniformly and across sectors what is considered corruption and how it should be punished, the Council of EU states announced after negotiations with the European Parliament. The rules should apply in both the private sector and public administration.
Bribery in the public and private sectors, embezzlement and obstruction of justice should be considered criminal corruption throughout the EU. There should also be uniform standards for behavior in public offices in the future.
The minimum level of penalties is also set
The new rules also specify how nation states must punish offenses related to corruption. According to the announcement, perpetrators face prison sentences of at least three to at least five years, depending on the offense. In addition, it should also be uniformly determined in which cases public officials who are guilty of corruption lose their positions.
The amount of fines for companies in corruption cases should depend on their total global turnover, it is said. In order to prevent crimes, every EU country should set up an anti-corruption center. The member states should therefore also record which professions and sectors are particularly affected by corruption.
MEP praises agreement, but also sees missed opportunity
The Green politician and MEP Daniel Freund said that with the new rules the EU is preventing individual member states from simply making certain acts unpunished. “This is exactly what has already happened in Italy and Hungary, for example.” At the same time, an opportunity was missed because member states were unwilling to disclose the number of corruption cases in their countries in the future, Freund added.
In May 2023, the EU Commission made proposals for uniform EU-wide combating of corruption. The agreement still needs to be formally confirmed by the European Parliament and the Member States in the Council./tre/DP/mis