Calay News
The European Union (EU) will create a specific sanctions regime against corruption, which will make it possible to prohibit the entry into the EU and freeze the assets of natural or legal persons from third countries who offer or accept bribes or who are involved in active or passive corruption outside the EU but which affect or could harm the EU’s common and security policies. The new regulation, presented by the High Representative for Foreign Policy and Defense, Josep Borrell, establishes a blacklist of corrupt individuals without the need to approve a sanctions regime against the state of origin.
This measure is part of a broader package to combat corruption in all areas of the EU, which includes a directive to combat these crimes, which will require Member States to establish specialized anti-corruption bodies, harmonize definitions of corruption-related offenses in the EU-27, establish certain penalties and statutes of limitations, and take measures for the protection of whistleblowers.
The new regulation has sparked debate on possible technical, legal, and political difficulties, given that there is no international definition of corruption and because it is intended to punish situations occurring in countries outside the EU. The scheme that has been agreed upon to resolve this is that the acts prosecuted must have some kind of relationship with EU policy.
The EU’s objective is to prevent and combat corruption both inside and outside the EU and to send a clear message that the EU is not open for business for those who engage in corruption, wherever it occurs.
