Forward with the anti-corruption directive, EU countries ready for negotiations with the European Parliament

Brussels–The justice ministers of the 27 member states today (June 14) adopted the EU Council’s position on new rules to combat corruption at the European level. The directive, proposed more than a year ago by the European Commission, for the first time brings together in one act rules on corruption in the public and private sectors. With the approval from ministers, the law is ready to move to the inter-institutional negotiation stage.

The directive defines the crimes and penalties associated with corruption, which is “a particularly serious area of criminal activity with a cross-border dimension.” In parallel, it provides preventive measures and rules for more effective investigation and prosecution. The harmonization of the definition of corruption offenses raised doubts in some national parliaments about compliance with the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality. Indeed, the law obliges all EU countries to prosecute the same acts of corruption and define them in the same way: corruption in the public and private sectors, embezzlement, trafficking in influence, obstruction of justice, and enrichment resulting from corruption offenses.

The European Commission’s original proposal aimed at also including abuse of office as a crime in all member countries. A point on which the EU executive expressed itself in January, commenting on the Italian government’s decision to decriminalize the crime of abuse of office. “The abolition of the crime of abuse of office could impact the effectiveness of corruption detection,” a spokesman for the European Commission commented. Justice Minister Carlo Nordio spoke at the EU Justice Council today, saying he was “pleased with the mediation reached on the crime of abuse of office, which with its flexibility makes it possible to reconcile the proposal’s objectives with national actions.”

Nordio pointed out to his colleagues that despite having changed legislation on abuse of office, Italy has “a regulatory arsenal in criminal law of no less than 17 articles against corruption, an authority (the Anac, edit) that deals with it in preventive terms, a jurisdiction that annuls acts when they are flawed, and a civil authority that allows for compensation for damages.”

Thanks to the law,  all member states will have to introduce “effective, proportionate and dissuasive” criminal penalties. Crimes associated with corruption will be punishable by a maximum prison sentence of two to four years, depending on the offense (the Commission’s proposal mentioned minimum sentences of four to six years), with the possibility of additional penalties such as fines, removal from public office, disqualification from holding public office or exercising a public service function, revocation of permits, and exclusion from access to public tenders and funds. Companies also face fines ranging from a minimum of 3 percent to 5 percent of their total worldwide turnover or at least 24 or 40 million euros, depending on the offense.

 The directive also proposes to extend the jurisdiction of member states outside their territory in cases where “the offender is a habitual resident in its territory” or the crime “is committed against one of their nationals or habitual residents.” The 27 will also have to ensure to put in place bodies to prevent and suppress corruption. The European Parliament adopted its position on the dossier in February: once the new European Parliament is in place, inter-institutional trilogues to finally shape the directive can begin.