18/11/14
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9 December 2010
"Transparency is corruption's worst enemy. International research has shown a crystal clear relationship between a high level of transparency and low level of corruption in public administrations. The reverse is equally true: less transparent administrations suffer from a higher level of corruption. At the occasion of the international anti-corruption day, I call today on all actors in Europe, businesses as well as public administrations, to work for increased transparency", said EU Commissioner Cecilia Malmström in a statement.
"Corruption is not a victimless crime. It undermines democracy and drains the economy. The fight against corruption is an important part of the EU agenda as we know that this is a priority for our citizens. Almost nine out of ten participants in a public consultation recently requested more EU action to fight corruption."
"Next year, I plan to propose a set of tools to improve Europe's capacity to fight this crime. This anti-corruption package will include an update of the EU anti-corruption policy, with a follow-up on how Member States use the existing regulations on a national level, and a European reporting mechanism to target and tackle the blind spots in the work already done by Member States."
"Corruption is a crime that must be taken seriously, and that must be fought by all means and on all levels. From the EU side, we must take our responsibility to boost anti-corruption policies in the Member States".
Read more about the International Anti-Corruption Day, and read more about corruption on the website of Transparency International. Below is a video message from Cecilia Malmström for a conference on the International Anti-Corruption Day, organised by the Flare network and Transparency International.
[9 MB] 
