• Corruption across EU 'breathtaking' - EU Commission
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[QUOTE]The extent of corruption in Europe is "breathtaking" and it costs the EU economy at least 120bn euros (£99bn) annually, the European Commission says. EU Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmstroem has presented a full report on the problem. She said the true cost of corruption was "probably much higher" than 120bn. Three-quarters of Europeans surveyed for the Commission study said that corruption was widespread, and more than half said the level had increased. "The extent of the problem in Europe is breathtaking, although Sweden is among the countries with the least problems," Ms Malmstroem wrote in Sweden's Goeteborgs-Posten daily. The cost to the EU economy is equivalent to the bloc's annual budget. For the report the Commission studied corruption in all 28 EU member states. The Commission says it is the first time it has done such a survey. Bribery widespread National governments, rather than EU institutions, are chiefly responsible for fighting corruption in the EU. But Ms Malmstroem said national governments and the European Parliament had asked the Commission to carry out the EU-wide study. The Commission drafts EU laws and enforces compliance with EU treaties. [/QUOTE] [url]http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-26014387[/url]
Of course there is, every country has a corrupt government to some degree. It's the same reason the US has so much corruption, all the people in power think "Well it isn't hurting anyone, and I'm not the only one", individually the states of the US and countries of the EU have lots of minor and middling corruption, but when you add it all together you just see endless corruption. And it isn't going to change because the ones charged with dealing with corruption are most likely corrupt themselves.
I was joking with a mate of mine today - Our country has fallen down to 6th place in corruption in Europe! And that's unacceptable. We have so much experience and tradition in that sector! Onward and upwards!
Summaries for each member state are available [url=http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-14-67_en.htm]here[/url]. Here are the summaries for the 5 most populous countries because why not Germany: [quote]When it comes to fighting corruption, Germany is amongst the best countries of the EU. However, more can be done. In this report, the European Commission points out that Germany would benefit from the introduction of strict penalties for corruption of elected officials. The Commission is also suggesting that Germany should develop a policy to deal with the 'revolving door' phenomenon, where officials leave office to work for companies they may have recently helped. Furthermore, increasing awareness of the risks of foreign bribery amongst small and medium sized enterprises would be helpful, and Germany could also do more to address concerns over the way election campaigns are financed. Alongside an analysis of the situation in each EU Member State, the European Commission is also presenting two extensive opinion polls. More than three quarters of European citizens agree that corruption is widespread in their home country. Although few Germans have direct experience of bribery, four percent of Europeans overall say that they have been asked or expected to pay a bribe in the past year. 9 percent of Germans say that they personally know someone who has taken bribes.[/quote] France: [quote]In France, legislative measures have recently been taken on the issue of conflicts of interests among politicians and public officials. However, corruption-related risks in the public procurement sector and in international business transactions have not been addressed. In this report, the European Commission therefore suggests that France should conduct a comprehensive assessment to identify risks at local level, and set priorities for anti-corruption measures related to public procurement. The Commission is also suggesting that France improves the legislation on foreign bribery, addresses the recommendations on party funding that have been raised by the Council of Europe, and makes efforts to increase the operational independence of prosecutors. Alongside an analysis of the situation in each EU Member State, the European Commission is also presenting two extensive opinion polls. More than three quarters of European citizens, and 68 percent of the French, agree that corruption is widespread in their home country. Four percent of Europeans, and two percent of the French, say that they have been asked or expected to pay a bribe in the past year. Four out of ten European companies consider corruption to be an obstacle for doing business. The number for France is higher - six out of ten French companies consider this an obstacle.[/quote] United Kingdom: [quote]In the United Kingdom, petty corruption does not appear to pose a challenge. Moreover, the UK has made strides in encouraging its companies to refrain from bribing officials abroad, through stringent legislation and detailed guidelines. Traditionally, the UK promotes high ethical standards of public service. However, to ensure continued success, further efforts are necessary to address risks of foreign bribery in vulnerable industries such as defence. In this report, the European Commission suggests that the UK should ensure transparency in out-of-court settlements in corruption cases. Accountability in the governance of banks can also be further strengthened. The Commission is also suggesting to cap donations to political parties, impose limits on electoral campaign spending and ensure proactive monitoring and prosecution of potential violations. Alongside an analysis of the situation in each EU Member State, the European Commission is also presenting two extensive opinion polls. More than three quarters of European citizens, and 64 percent of UK respondents, agree that corruption is widespread in their home country. Approximately one in four Europeans considers that they are affected by corruption in their everyday lives. In the UK, this figure is well below the EU average, 16 percent.[/quote] Italy: [quote]The adoption of the anti-corruption law in November 2012 represents a significant step forward in the fight against corruption in Italy: it highlights prevention policies aiming to raise the level of accountability within public administration and political elites and to balance the anti-corruption burden, which is currently falling almost exclusively on the law enforcement side. However, despite considerable efforts, corruption remains a serious challenge in Italy. In this report, the European Commission suggests that Italy should strengthen the integrity regime for elected officials through ethical codes, including accountability tools. Italy should also reinforce the legal and institutional framework on party funding. Furthermore, the deficiencies of the statute of limitation regime should be addressed without delay. The Commission is also suggesting that Italy reinforces the powers and capacity of the National Anti-Corruption Agency to perform a strong coordination role, enhances transparency around public procurement and takes further steps to address shortcomings regarding corruption in the private sector. More efforts are required with regard to conflicts of interest and asset disclosure of public officials, as well as control mechanisms around local and regional public spending. Alongside an analysis of the situation in each EU Member State, the European Commission is also presenting two extensive opinion polls. More than three quarters of European citizens, and a full 97 percent of Italians, agree that corruption is widespread in their home country. Nearly 2 in 3 Europeans and 88 percent of Italian citizens believe that bribery and the use of connections is often the easiest way to obtain certain public services.[/quote] Spain: [quote]Although an anti-corruption legal framework is largely in place in Spain and law enforcement has shown good results in investigating corrupt practices, today's report does show a certain number of deficiencies. Particularly challenging is political corruption and deficient checks and balances, notably in public spending and control mechanisms at regional and local levels. In this report, the European Commission suggests that tailor-made anti-corruption strategies for regional and local levels administrations are developed, that on-going reforms and implementation of the new rules on party funding is pursued, and that comprehensive codes of conduct for elected officials with adequate accountability tools are developed. The Commission is also suggesting that irregularities in public procurement procedures at regional and local levels should be addressed further. Alongside an analysis of the situation in each EU Member State, the European Commission is also presenting two extensive opinion polls. More than three quarters of Europeans, and a full 95 percent of Spanish citizens, agree that corruption is widespread in their home country. Approximately one in four Europeans considers that they are affected by corruption in their everyday lives. In Spain, that number is 63 percent, the highest percentage in the EU. Four percent of Europeans, and 2 percent of Spanish citizens, say that they have been asked or expected to pay a bribe in the past year.[/quote]
Well yeah, if there wasn't any corruption Europe wouldn't be going through economic hard times, note how the countries most affected by it are also the ones more affected by the bad economy. Also, I don't doubt that there's big corruption going on and that they did more than just survey but how accurate can a survey on the population about corruption be?
Report for Greece: [QUOTE]Everyone is corrupt there is no salvation for this country[/QUOTE]
There's no salvation neither in Spain. Everything is corrupted at all the levels. If we fought the corruption, we would have enough money to pay our debt. But of course is always easier to get the money from the citizens by cutting services and making new taxes.
[QUOTE=barttool;43783832]Report for Greece:[/QUOTE] where's my fakalakia ?
So i saw this for my country: [QUOTE]In this report, the European Commission suggests that Slovenia should apply dissuasive penalties to elected and appointed officials for when requirements to disclose assets and conflicts of interests are breached and take further steps to strengthen accountability standards for elected officials. The Commission is also suggesting that Slovenia should safeguard the operational independence and resources of anti-corruption bodies and prosecution services specialized in combating financial crime . Slovenia should also strengthen anti-corruption mechanisms concerning state-owned and state–controlled companies, as well as around public procurement and privatisation procedures. More efforts can be made to ensure effective supervision of party funding.[/QUOTE] Yeah right, like that would even happen. I hate to be like this depressing, but the amount of corruption is sadly really high. And the ex anti-corruption agency president in my country has decided to leave it since there is too much of people that were/are still to this day making their work worse. As much AS I LOVE my country, i wonder if i would still stay in it the next 15 years.
In Finland, the chief of the drug police was also found guilty of taking bribes a while back. It was pretty serious.
I'm pleasantly surprised that corruption in the UK is one of the lowest. I suppose most of our corruption comes from corporate 'donors' more than anything else though.
I'm just sick of the lack of accountability and when caught out, those in the firing line just get a slap on the wrist when their behavior has probably been the catalyst for so much destruction in society. Let's just bitch about it on the internet.
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