Corruption continues to be a challenge for Europe - a phenomenon that costs the European economy around 120 billion euros per year. EU member countries have taken many initiatives in recent years, but the results are uneven and more should be done to prevent and punish corruption.

Europeans are deeply worried about corruption - Eurobarometer survey results show that three quarters (76%) of Europeans think that corruption is widespread and more than half (56%) think that the level of corruption in their country has increased over the past three years.

EU Anti-Corruption Report 2014

The EU Anti-Corruption Report, published in February 2014, provided a clear picture of the situation regarding corruption in each Member State: measures in place, outstanding issues, policies that are working and areas that could be improved.It aimed at setting up a framework to facilitate the exchanges of best practices, identify EU trends, gather comparable data on the EU 27 and stimulate peer learning and further compliance with EU and international commitments, as well as preparing the ground for future EU policy initiatives in the area of anti-corruption.

The report showed that the nature and scope of corruption varies from one Member State to another and that the effectiveness of anti-corruption policies is quite different. It also showed how corruption is a phenomenon affecting all Member States, and how continued action is needed across the EU.

Since then, the EU Anti-Corruption Report has served as the basis for dialogue with national authorities while also informing broader debates across Europe. All EU countries have designated a national contact point to facilitate information exchange on anti-corruption policy. Together with the anti-corruption experience-sharing programme launched by the Commission in 2015, these efforts have encouraged national authorities to better implement laws and policies against corruption.

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