Корупцията е многостранен феномен (Corruption is a multi-faceted phenomenon)

 Никола Бенин

Корупцията е многостранен феномен, който присъства както в публичния, така и в частния сектор и е свързан с вземането на решения в управлението на бизнеса, публичната администрация и политиката. Корупцията има много форми. Може да е дребна престъпност или сложна корупция на високо ниво, но може също така да се крие зад фаворизиране и непотизъм, конфликти на интереси и въртящи се врати – там, където бизнесът среща политиката.

Corruption is a multi-faceted phenomenon, present both in the public and private sectors, and linked to decision-making in business management, public administration, and politics.. Corruption has many forms. It can be petty crime or complex high-level corruption but it can also hide behind favouritism and nepotism, conflicts of interest and revolving doors – where business meets politics.

RESEARCH AND INNOVATION TO FIGHT CORRUPTION WHAT IS CORRUPTION? Corruption is a multi-faceted phenomenon, present both in the public and private sectors, and linked to decision-making in business management, public administration, and politics.. Corruption has many forms. It can be petty crime or complex high-level corruption but it can also hide behind favouritism and nepotism, conflicts of interest and revolving doors – where business meets politics. Corruption is a threat to security as it enables and drives organised and other serious crime. Almost 60% of criminal groups engage in corruption, with some of these groups applying a “business strategy” to frequently and proactively target sector-specific business managers or public servants. Corruption and organised crime are almost inextricably linked with its targets ranging from public officials, law enforcement officials, politically exposed persons, members of the judiciary and the private sector. Corruption creates business uncertainty, lowers investment levels and prevents the single market from operating smoothly. Most importantly, corruption undermines trust in democracy, public institutions and governments, and constitutes a serious threat to the rule of law and fundamental rights.

A serious concern for citizens The 2022 Eurobarometer on corruption show that corruption remains a serious concern for EU citizens and businesses in the EU. Almost seven in ten Europeans (68%) believe that corruption is widespread in their country and over four in ten Europeans (41%) consider that the level of corruption has increased in their country. A majority of companies (51%) think that it is unlikely that corrupt people or businesses in their country would be caught, or reported to the police or prosecutors. New challenges and opportunities Digital technologies, in particular, Artificial Intelligence, deepfakes, Big Data, blockchain, etc., have proven to be both a driving force behind the growth of new forms of corruption, as well as a source of tools in the fight against it. EUROPOL denounces a rise of phenomena based on ICT (such as DarkNet markets, cryptocurrencies and specific Bitcoin mixers and tumblers). However, while generating threats for Law Enforcement Authorities, emerging technologies could also help them to curb corruption via, for instance, digital public services, crowdsourcing platforms, reporting tools, transparency portals, distributed ledger technology or Artificial Intelligence.

WHAT DO THE EUROPEAN INSTITUTIONS DO TO FIGHT CORRUPTION? The EU and its Member States are party to the United Nations Convention against Corruption, the most comprehensive international legal instrument, combining measures to prevent and fight corruption in order to encourage international cooperation and technical assistance among the signatory parties. In her 2022 State of the Union Speech, Commission President von der Leyen announced that the Commission will present a new anti-corruption package, including measures to update the previous dedicated pieces of legislation (1997, 2003, 2008), on the basis of Article 83(1) TFEU, which recognises corruption as a particularly serious crime with a cross-border dimension. See web-site on EU anti-corruption policy. The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) is the EU body entitled to conduct criminal investigations and to prosecute fraud and corruption affecting the EU’s financial interests. The European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) conducts independent administrative investigations into fraud, corruption and any other illegal activity involving EU funds or revenue, besides investigating serious misconduct by staff and members of the EU institutions. On the basis of the Agendas on Security and Migration, Eurojust, the EU agency dealing with judicial co-operation in criminal matters among the Member States, focuses on combatting treating terrorism, illegal immigrant smuggling and cybercrime. Part of its activities include investigating corruption cases, which often facilitate other types of crime. Europol, the EU agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation, also contributes to the fight against corruption. Founded in 2020, the European Financial and Economic Crime Centre (EFECC) aims at preventing and combating financial and economic crime in the EU, such as money laundering, corruption, widespread counterfeiting, fraud and tax fraud schemes that target individuals, countries and companies. EU-FUNDED R&I HELPING TO FIGHT CORRUPTION The EU Framework Programmes for research and innovation contribute to these joint efforts by providing evidence on new forms of corruption, by designing innovative ways to combat them, including with and in response to emerging technologies, and by creating opportunities for synergies between the actors involved and other practitioners (also through workshops and other dissemination activities organised in the framework of CERIS - Community for European Research and Innovation for Security). Horizon 2020 has provided some EUR 10 million directly for this area.