There is an ongoing debate in the international development sector about the efficacy of conditionality. The EU Accession process is an example of a conditional process, sometimes termed a “carrot and stick approach” whereby substantial funds and support are provided along with the ultimate prize of EU membership BUT, simultaneously, strict conditions are set and progress towards meeting them are critically evaluated on a regular basis. No comprehensive research has been carried out on anti-corruption outcomes and the conditionality of the Accession process, but clearly NGOs campaigning for reform have used the conditions in their own advocacy work. As well as monitoring governments’ progress towards meeting conditions, civil society organisations also monitor the Accession process itself and provide critiques and recommendations for improvement where appropriate.

The EU’s Neighbourhood Policy has been expanded to subsume the Euro-Mediterranean area of North Africa as well as border and future border nations in Eastern Europe and the Caucasus. There are concerns that without the “carrot” of EU membership, the Neighbourhood Policy as a form of engagement with third countries will not be effective at generating reform. The action plans for the EU Neighbourhood countries refer to corruption, but few contain sufficient detail. Here there is also scope for NGO advocacy to ensure that the inclusion of anti-corruption goes beyond mere window-dressing.