Recommendations to counter local corruption adopted

European Committee of the Regions calls for localised strategies to fight corruption.

The European Committee of the Regions has urged regional and city administrations to take the initiative to uproot corruption by adopting an existing pan-European code of conduct and by developing specific strategies focused on tackling abuses in public procurement and in the construction, waste management, and port management sectors.

The proposals, which were adopted at a plenary of the European Committee of the Regions on 29 November, are aimed at improving and supplementing an emerging anti-corruption EU directive.

The recommendations come amid concerns that perceptions of widespread corruption are undermining the democratic system in Europe. A Eurobarometer survey in 2022 found almost three-quarters of Europeans think there is corruption in national public institutions (74%) and in local or regional public institutions (72%) in their country.

The rapporteur, Jean-Luc Vanraes (BE/RE), member of Uccle Municipal Council, said: "Corruption is a cancer that is destroying our democracy and needs to be eradicated."

Through the directive, the EU wants to harmonise the criminalisation of corruption across the EU's member states by introducing common definitions of corrupt conduct such as bribery in the public and private sector, misappropriation, trading in influence, abuse of functions, obstruction of justice and enrichment from corruption offences, while also requiring approximation of criminal penalties.

The CoR's opinion notes that embedding the directive into national criminal law will be a difficult and long-lasting process, given the diversity of national criminal laws, differing divisions of law-making powers across the European Union, and subsidiarity and proportionality issues. It therefore encourages municipalities and regions to take voluntary steps to raise standards and to develop anti-corruption strategies that target sectors where graft is particularly embedded.

The CoR suggests that administrations at the local and regional level could adopt or adapt the European Code of Conduct for all Persons Involved in Local and Regional Governance developed by the Council of Europe, a continent-wide institution founded in 1949 to promote human rights, democracy, and the rule of law. The Council of Europe is the author of a range of conventions and guidelines addressing corruption. A follow-up from the CoR on implementation by members of the European Code of Conduct is encouraged.

The report also encourages thought to be given to raising levels of remuneration for politicians elected at the local and regional level. Payment systems for governors, mayors and councillors differ significantly across Europe, reflecting different political cultures and tradition.

The recommendations made by the CoR underscore the importance of training and reporting obligations for officials, institutional controls and sanctions, and media and civil-society scrutiny, pointing out that gaps in implementation, enforcement, and cooperation are undermining existing legislation.

WHAT NEXT:

The draft directive on combating corruption, presented by the European Commission in May 2023, is currently under consideration by the EU's co-legislators. The European Parliament issued its draft report in September 2023. The CoR has an advisory role in the EU's law-making process.

BACKGROUND:

• "EU Anti-Corruption Framework", opinion factsheet, European Committee of the Regions
• Draft directive on combating corruption, European Commission, May 2023
• "Joint Communication on the fight against corruption", by the European Commission, May 2023
• Draft directive on combating corruption, draft report by the European Parliament, September 2023
• "European Code of Conduct for all Persons Involved in Local and Regional Governance", adopted by the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe
  
  

Contact:

Andrew Gardner

Tel. +32 473 843 981

andrew.gardner@cor.europa.eu​