Confidence undermined by graft

The European Commission has just made public an impressive figure (120 billion euros) regarding the estimated annual cost of corruption throughout the European Union. This conclusion is the result not of any original work of investigation on its own part, but of calculations based on other sources (the European Council’s anticorruption group, Transparency International, and others). Even with these limitations, it is certainly a warning to bear in mind as to the doubts about the EU as a clean area for economic activity.

The Commission does well to pressure national governments in this way, and to warn the citizens of the heavy cost of this state of affairs. It suggests there is a direct link between the difficulties many national public sectors encounter in financing themselves, and the volume of money that is drained off through various types of graft, principally in cost overruns on public contracts. The report also adds a note of warning on the loss of public confidence in political leaders.

More striking is the widespread feeling of living in an environment of generalized corruption, especially in the south of Europe (Greece, Italy, Spain). Surprisingly, this is also the belief of a majority of people in Germany (59 percent), and the Netherlands (61 percent), leaving only the public opinion of a few countries (Denmark, Finland, Luxembourg) relatively immune to suspicion.

The majority of people share the impression that these practices have grown worse in recent years, especially in Spain, where such is the belief of 77 percent of the public. This figure contrasts with the fact that very few people see themselves directly affected or are personally acquainted with a concrete case, which shows that their impressions must derive largely from the impact of widespread publication on the internet. Nor are there any particular novelties as regards the Spanish cases mentioned in the report, but their inclusion is certainly not helpful in reestablishing Spain’s international reputation.

Tighter supervision

All this confirms the necessity for a general cleanup, and a change in political ways. The latest survey conducted by the Center for Sociological Studies (CIS) reminds us once again that the prevalence of corruption and fraud is the second biggest concern of the Spanish public after unemployment. One of the questions to be resolved is the financing of the political parties which, in the view of 87 percent of the Spanish public, is not sufficiently transparent or properly supervised, according to the European Commission study.

Laws are required, but above all what is needed is the will to comply with them. And for this purpose it is indispensable to have professional bodies of supervision and control, capable of monitoring the accounts of politicians, and of serving as an early-warning alert against abuses of power.