by
Martin Banks
In its first annual report, the commission declined to set out any ranking of corruption levels country by country and decided to suppress findings on fraud within European Union institutions.
But the commission has called on member states to step up their fight against corruption.
Calling the extent of the problem 'breathtaking', the EU executive said that corruption costs the equivalent of the bloc's yearly budget.
Cecilia Malmstroem, the European home affairs commissioner, criticised governments for failing to tackle the problem.
"One thing is very clear: there is no 'corruption-free' zone in Europe. The political commitment to really root out corruption seems to be missing," she said. "The price of not acting is simply too high."
The Commission's warning comes in the first EU Anti-Corruption Report.
It suggests that measures to tackle illegal practices across the EU are 'far from enough'.
The report suggests solutions, based on a careful assessment of each member state. They include: Better accountability and integrity standards; control mechanisms in public authorities and dealing with conflicts of interests by officials.
It also recommends that lobbying be more transparent and innovative e-tools to enhance transparency are developed.
Less than one per cent of Britons, five people out of the 1,115 surveyed by the commission, reported that they had been asked for a bribe, the "best result in Europe".
In contrast between six to 29 per cent of people in Croatia, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Romania and Greece said they had been expected to pay a bribe.
Almost all companies in Greece, Spain and Italy believe corruption is widespread but it is considered rare in Denmark, Finland and Sweden, the report found.
Recent research by Transparency International's named Greece as the worst performer in the EU, sharing 80th place with China. Denmark was seen as the least corrupt country.
The commission's report did not rank EU countries, ranging from Sweden to Bulgaria, on differing levels of the seriousness of corruption and did not make any legal proposals.
Malmstrom, speaking in Brussels, also warned that corruption is undermining citizen confidence in democracy and hurting the bloc's economy.
According to the report, almost 80% of Europeans surveyed for the study think that corruption is widespread and more than half believe that the level of corruption in their country has recently increased.
"As Europe is finding its way out of the economic crisis, we cannot afford to drag our feet."
She added, "We hope that this will start a political process and will spur the political will and the necessary commitment at all levels to address corruption more effectively across Europe. The price of not acting is simply too high."
In the corporate world, four out of ten European companies surveyed considered corruption to be an obstacle for doing business in the EU.
By: N. Peter Kramer
