Bribery and Corruption

Publication of its 5 th annual "Corruption report" by the NGO Transparency International on 26 October (www.transparency.de) revealed a continuing decline in standards internationally. Using a Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) ranging from 10 (good) to 0 (bad) it showed the top ten bribery-free countries to be mostly European: all five Nordic countries plus the Netherlands and Switzerland, together with New Zealand, Canada and Singapore. The remaining EEA countries were ranked, in descending order of probity: 11 (Luxembourg - 8 . 8), 13 (UK - 8 . 6), 14 (Germany - 8 . 0), 15 (Ireland - 7 . 7), 17 (Austria - 7 . 6), 21 (Portugal - 6 . 7), 22 (France and Spain - both 6 . 6), 29 (Belgium - 5 . 3), 36 (Greece - 4 . 9) and 38 (Italy - 4 . 7) out of a total of 99 countries. A new Bribe Payers Index only covered 19 leading exporter countries the traders of which engaged in bribery in their export markets, of which 9 were EEA States. Their ranking, in the same descending order of probity, was: 1 (Sweden - 8 . 3), 4 (Austria - 7 . 8), 6 (Netherlands - 7 . 4), 7 (UK - 7 . 2), 8 (Belgium - 6 . 8), 9 (Germany - 6 . 2), 12 (Spain - 5 . 3), 13 (France - 5 . 2) and 16 (Italy - 3 . 7).

To meet and counter this continuing phenomenon, the OECD (www.oecd.org) adopted a Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in 1997. Half the EEA States have ratified it (Austria, Belgium, Germany, Greece, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and the UK). The Council of Europe adopted a Criminal Law Convention in 1998 which is also relevant. The European Union itself has dealt with the problem under the 3rd Pillar. Its internal aspects were partially covered in the 1997 Convention on corruption involving officials of the EC or the Member States, building on the very specific fraud-related coverage of the earlier 1996 protocol to the 1995 Financial Interests Convention. That was followed in late 1997 by a Common Position calling on the Member States to support both the OECD and the Council of Europe initiatives. And then in December 1998 the EU Council adopted a Joint Action dealing in detail with the whole question of bribery and corruption, extending it to all forms of private conduct, under the two headings of "passive corruption in the private sector" and "active corruption in the private sector", neither type being restricted to action within the territory of the EU.