8 December marks the International Anti-Corruption Day. On 8 December 2023, the European Commission reviewed the latest measures to fight corruption in the EU. The Commission stressed that the legislative anti-corruption package tabled in May 2023 (→ eucrim 2/2023, 139) represents a milestone in the fight against corruption both at the national and EU levels. As a core element, this includes the proposal for a new directive harmonising the criminalisation and penalisation of corrupt behaviour across the EU (→ eucrim 2/2023, 140-141). Moreover, the Commission drew attention to the established EU Network against Corruption, which convened for the first time in Brussels, in September 2023 (→ eucrim 2/2023, 141).

The Commission also pointed out the 2023 Eurobarometer corruption survey the results of which were released in July 2023. The survey found that scepticism about corruption is growing: 40% of EU citizens believe that corruption has risen in their country over the past three years and 70% say that corruption is widespread in their country. 65% of EU companies think the problem of corruption is “fairly” to “very” widespread in their country. At the same time, citizens and businesses alike are increasingly sceptical about national efforts to address corruption.

Lastly, the Commission reiterated that the EU is highly committed to improve efforts against corruption at the international level. This will be particularly the case in the Conference of State Parties (CoSP) to the UN Convention against Corruption. The tenth session took place in Atlanta (United States) from 11 to 15 December 2023.