The European Union will only be credible in the fight against corruption if it applies the same standards of integrity, transparency, accountability and scrutiny to its own institutions that it expects from Member States, ECR Shadow Rapporteur Mariusz Kamiński said during today’s European Parliament debate on the forthcoming EU Anti-Corruption Strategy.
For the ECR Group, stronger action against corruption is necessary, particularly where cross-border crime, the protection of EU funds and the integrity of European institutions are concerned. But new European rules must also address weaknesses within the EU system itself.
Kamiński said:
“The European Union has a very serious problem with corruption. In recent years, we have witnessed a series of corruption scandals involving prominent European politicians and senior officials. Qatargate and the Huawei scandal remain unresolved, while we have also seen scandals involving former Commissioners Reynders, Avramopoulos and Mogherini. EU citizens are fed up with this state of affairs and expect decisive action.
“The EU Anti-Corruption Strategy must first and foremost address the EU institutions themselves. The EU institutions lack transparency and need new, robust anti-corruption mechanisms.
“In particular, there must be an obligation to submit public and verifiable asset declarations under penalty of criminal liability. The current discretionary declarations of absence of conflicts of interest submitted by Commissioners are absolutely insufficient.”
At the same time, the ECR Group supports strong and independent national anti-corruption bodies and better cooperation against cross-border corruption and organised crime, while respecting the primary responsibility of Member States for enforcement.
“We must also take decisive action against illegal lobbying and eliminate the phenomenon of the ‘revolving door’. Effective action against corruption also requires strong support for specialised and independent anti-corruption bodies such as Poland’s Central Anti-Corruption Bureau,” Kaminski said.
Kamiński concluded:
“If the European Union genuinely wants to fight corruption, it must start with its own institutions.”
The European Parliament will vote on its position on the EU Anti-Corruption Strategy on Thursday.
