The management of anti-corruption policy within the Accession process in the cases of Romania and Bulgaria and rigorous evaluation of its successes and failures should inform the EU’s future enlargements and its broader development policy - even where the membership perspective is absent.

Corruption is prevalent in the Western Balkans and is recognized by the Commission as one of the major obstacles to EU integration for the aspiring members of the region: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro.

Since the Thessaloniki Summit of 2003, Accession has been the framework for international involvement in the region. Croatia an official candidate country since 2004 is the farthest down the road to membership. Macedonia follows, having submitted its application for membership in 2004 and being granted candidate status late in 2005. The European Commission began talks with Serbia and Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina on Stabilization and Association Agreements – the first step in the Accession process - in 2005. Albania began negotiations on a Stabilization and Association Agreement in 2004 and concluded them early in 2006.
Somewhat different is the case of Turkey, which has been an Associate Member of the EU and previously the European Communities since 1963. Turkey applied to join the EEC in 1987, and was recognized as a candidate country in 1999; membership negotiations finally began in 2005.
Turkey’s membership is a divisive issue in the current EU with objections to its membership ranging from the economic to the cultural and the technical. Corruption is a serious problem in the country, but it is also possible that the problem of corruption will be exaggerated in order to mask some of the less savoury objections to Turkey’s membership.
Figures show that in South East Europe and Turkey corruption is a major problem and hampers economic and political development in the region.

The Corruption Perceptions Index figures for South East Europe and Turkey are

*Position 1 is perceived as LEAST corrupt
145 countries were surveyed
** 10 denotes a clean, corruption-free score.

If the importance of anti-corruption policy is not recognised then compliance with the three Copenhagen Criteria becomes more difficult or impossible for the applicant countries because:

• Political-institutional reforms in all areas depend on strong anti-corruption measures.
• Economic development necessary to establish a functioning market economy will not take place if widespread corruption remains a problem.
• A key lesson from the first wave of Accession is that, while enactment of anti-corruption legislation is relatively straightforward, implementation is extremely problematic, particularly when political will is limited.
• Enforcement of laws and compliance with EC law in the long-term (i.e. should Enlargement go ahead) will be difficult if governance standards are not improved.

According to the European Commission’s own “Annual Report on the Stabilisation and Association Process for South East Europe 2004”

“The continuing prevalence of organised crime and corruption in the region delays political reform, holds back economic development and puts into question the rule of law.”

Similar results are found in other major surveys which measure corruption-related phenomena.

Relating back to the economic criteria for membership, foreign investment is currently very low in South East Europe, limiting economic growth. One of the reasons for this is corruption. In addition, the indigenous private sector is developing quickly but with limited anti-corruption regulations, thus economic benefits will continue to be concentrated in small sections of society and the business approach will be short-termist, unsustainable, and continue to involve corrupt politicians and organized crime.