Corrupt EU politicians think they have a right to rob their countries - Drago Kos, corruption fighterJuly 25, 2014 14:57
The European Union boasts of its well-being and the rule of law, but the latest European Commission report on corruption shows something is rotten in the EU. Billions of euros are eaten up by corruption each year, and no parts of Europe are spared. Is there no way out of this? How does corruption find its way into so many nations? Can it be fought? To tease this out, we talk with Drago Kos, a professional corruption fighter and OECD head.
Sophie Shevardnadze: Mr. Kos, it’s great to have you with us today, now the Commissioner behind the report into the corruption in the EU has called the scale of it “breathtaking”. Do the figures take your breath away, because they are certainly striking?
Drago Kos: Well, first of all, best regards to your viewers, all around the world. I must say I was not so much surprised about the figures, which were presented in the report. Although they are an estimation, but still, I would say that this estimation is quite accurate, and if you take into the consideration the amount of money which is being spent every year in EU, those figures are extremely big but not such a surprise.
http://rt.com/shows/sophieco/175340-corrupt-eu-economy-money/Commission: Corruption costs EU €120 billion yearlyReport: Corruption widespread in EUReport highlights business-political nexus and corruption's $162.19bn annual cost to European economies.Last updated: 04 Feb 2014
Corruption affects all 28 member countries of the European Union and costs their economies about $162.19bn (120bn euros) a year, according to a European Union report.
The report, the EU's first on corruption, was issued on Monday by Cecilia Malmstrom, EU Commissioner for Home Affairs, the AP news agency reported.
Malmstrom said in a statement that "corruption undermines citizens' confidence in democratic institutions and the result of law, it hurts the European economy and deprives states of much-needed tax revenue.
"Member states have done a lot in recent years to fight corruption, but today's report shows that it is far from enough."
The report said that an increasing number of EU citizens, who were surveyed as part of the report, thought it was getting worse.
Almost all companies in Greece, Spain and Italy believe it is widespread and, among businesses, belief is widespread that the only way to succeed is through political connections.
Corruption is considered rare in Denmark, Finland and Sweden, according to the report, a finding that reflects the work of Transparency International's corruption perception index.
It named Greece as the worst performer in the EU, sharing 80th place with China. Denmark was seen as the least corrupt.
Construction companies, which often tender for government contracts, are the most affected. Almost eight in ten of those asked complained about corruption.
Overall, 43 percent of companies see corruption as a problem. The cost to the European economy is almost equivalent to the size of the Romanian economy.
Eight out of ten EU citizens believe that close links between business and politics lead to corruption.
"Europe's problem is not so much with small bribes on the whole," Carl Dolan of Transparency International in Brussels, told Reuters. "It's with the ties between the political class and industry."
"There has been a failure to regulate politicians' conflicts of interest in dealing with business," he said.
"The rewards for favouring companies, in allocating contracts or making changes to legislation, are positions in the private sector when they have left office rather than a bribe."
The European Commission recommended better controls and a redoubling of enforcement.
The report was published shortly after Romania's former prime minister, Adrian Nastase, was sent to jail for four years for taking bribes.
He was the first prime minister to be put behind bars since the collapse of communism in Europe in 1989.
The EU has repeatedly raised concerns about a failure to tackle corruption at high-level in Romania and Bulgaria, the bloc's two poorest members.
They have been blocked from joining the passport-free Schengen zone over the issue since their entry.
In October 2012, former European Health Commissioner John Dalli was forced to quit after an associate was accused of asking for 60 million euros from a tobacco company in return for influencing EU tobacco law.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe/2014/02/eu-report-corruption-widespread-bloc-20142313322401478.html
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