Corruption is a disease
Cecilia Malmström
EU commissioner Cecilia Malmström has called for more "pro-active" measures to tackle the "enormous" problem of bribery and corruption in the EU.
But she warned that "without the political will" the "disease" of corruption will continue to grow.
The official, who is responsible for the home affairs portfolio in the commission, was a speaker at a debate on Wednesday jointly organised by the Parliament Magazine, entitled "Tackling corruption across the EU."
In a keynote message, she called for the fight against corruption to be "streamlined" saying that, currently, it costs some €120bn each year.
This, she pointed out, is one per cent of the EU's gross domestic product (GDP), or approximately equivalent to the next year's EU budget.
She said, "Corruption is a disease that eats away at everything, including public trust and economic growth. It paves the way for organised crime, fraud and money laundering. It exists in all member states – there are no exceptions."
She pointed to an annual index produced by Transparency International, the global coalition against corruption which co-sponsored the event.
The index assesses how each member state is perceived to be tackling corruption and bribery, with Bulgaria, Greece, Romania and Italy consistently at the bottom of the "league table".
Malmström, however, noted, "I come from Denmark, a country at the top of the index, but even here we have seen in recent years several significant corruption cases which have diminished public trust."
Malmström outlined details of the commission's anti-corruption package, which was adopted in June and includes an "anti-corruption" report to be published every two years on the efforts being made by member states to tackle the problem.
She told the debate it will be published for the first time in 2013 and is intended to ensure that anti-corruption measures are being implemented at member state level.
"The aim is not to name and shame member states but to help them. We do not have an anti-corruption task force, or flying squad, but it is important this issue is being discussed at forums like this."
Another speaker, Cobus de Swardt, managing director of Transparency International, described corruption as "the ultimate crime against society".
He welcomed the commission's anti-corruption package, saying it was an "important step forward" in efforts to make official bodies and organisations "more accountable" for their actions.
"However," he cautioned, "there is still a lot to be done".
Speaking about a "trust crisis", MEP Monica Macovei, a former Romanian justice minister, said that corrupt behaviour by bankers and others had contributed to the ongoing crisis in the eurozone.
She said that any future financial aid to debt-stricken countries such as Greece and Italy should be "coupled" with "very strict" anti-corruption controls.
She said, "This is necessary to ensure that EU money is not once again lost to corruption and bribery and ends up in the pockets of private individuals."
Another speaker, Philippe Legrain, of the Bureau of European Policy Advisors, which advises commission president José Manuel Barroso, told the event that while corruption had not been at the heart of the eurozone crisis, it had been a contributory factor.
Hendrik Bourgeois, vice president of European Affairs for General Electric, called for increased cooperation to tackle corruption, which he branded an "all-pervasive" problem.
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