Fight against corruption still blocked

Date: 15/05/1997

By Simon Coss

ATTEMPTS to stamp out corruption among officials handling EU funds remain effectively log-jammed because national governments still disagree over how best to tackle the issue, Justice Commissioner Anita Gradin will warn next week.

All 15 member states appeared to show a clear commitment to fighting the problem when they signed an agreement last September outlawing corruption by EU officials handling Union funds as well as attempts to corrupt them.

But there is a catch. The deal is linked to the 1995 fraud convention and cannot come into force until the main agreement has been ratified by the Union's 15 national parliaments. As yet, none has done so. This lack of progress stems from continuing disagreement between national delegations over the role of the European Court of Justice in interpreting the convention.

Some governments say the ECJ must be allowed compulsory jurisdiction over preliminary judgements - when national courts ask Luxembourg for its interpretation of Union law during trials - in order to prevent 15 different versions of the convention emerging. Others, notably the UK, are opposed in principle to any increase in the ECJ's influence in this sphere.

The newly elected British Labour government has already indicated there will not be any dramatic change in London's long-held position that justice and home affairs issues should be dealt with through intergovernmental cooperation.

A possible second protocol to the fraud convention which would penalise companies ('legal persons') which benefit from EU fraud will be discussed by justice ministers again at the end of May. The sticking point is that not all national legal systems recognise the concept of a 'legal person'.

A separate Italian-backed plan is also being discussed by justice ministers. Rome is calling for a full-blown 'corruption convention' which would outlaw any form of corruption of or by public officials across the Union. Until now, London has argued against the need for any EU-level action in such a wide area.