EU Statement at the Working Group on the Prevention of Corruption, 20 May 2026

Chair,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union and its Member States. Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Iceland, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Republic of Moldova, Serbia, and Ukraine align themselves with this statement.

Chair,

Let me start by thanking the secretariat for providing the background informations.

Across the European Union, including its institutions, preventing corruption from the start is a clear political priority.

In that context, I am very pleased to inform you that the Directive on combating corruption has been adopted by the European Union. It will enter into force very soon. 

The Directive also includes provisions aimed at strengthening preventive and integrity measures in Member States, such as national anti-corruption strategies, assessments to identify the sectors or occupations most at risk of corruption, and awareness raising actions. 

As announced by President von der Leyen, the Commission an EU Anti-Corruption Strategy at the end of this year. The purpose of the strategy is to further transform our political commitment and vision into concrete actions aiming to strengthen democracy, the rule of law and fundamental freedoms.

We recently reached out to stakeholders with an open public consultation to receive feedback on what they consider should be covered in the strategy. We will also carry out more specific, targeted stakeholder consultations (for example Member States). The Strategy will in particular help to create more synergies, present strategic priorities and new actions across the EU, its institutions and its Member States to reinforce our capacity to prevent and address corruption.

Beyond the Directive and the Strategy, the EU will continue to support the prevention and fight against corruption, both within EU institutions and within its Member States in identifying possible corruption risks and taking the necessary preventive measures, notably in the context of the Annual Rule of Law Report drafted by the European Commission.

(i) Access to information: best practices and challenges

The Rule of Law Report examines developments in all 27 Member States and four enlargement countries in four key areas for the rule of law. 

The right to access information from public authorities is one of the items monitored in the report. Access to information is crucial to enable journalists to carry out their investigative work. It is also an important transparency and accountability tool for civil society and citizens at large. 

(ii) Strengthening anti-corruption and integrity education for children and young people

The EU follows a whole-of-society approach in the fight against corruption. We believe it is key to partner with the private sector, civil society, research and academia, media as well as citizens to create a culture of integrity. 

In particular, the engagement with young people is crucial to foster an understanding for integrity and combating corruption from early onwards. Teachers and educational professionals as role models and educational institutions as organizations with integrity play an important role in building a strong culture of integrity and anti-corruption awareness in the long-term. They help to instil values such as honesty, fairness and accountability in children and young people from an early age. 

The resolution on this topic adopted in Doha, which was sponsored by Austria, Chile, Slovenia and the EU on behalf of its 27 Member States, is an important call to embed  integrity and anti-corruption across formal and non-formal educational programmes and activities throughout the education systems, with the aim to foster integrity as a value in the future generations and consequentially re-building trust in the public bodies.

The established Erasmus+ programme and the European Solidarity Corps which include anti-corruption themes in their work on education, training, youth and sport present a strong podium for fostering anti-corruption of young people. They address anti-corruption efforts under different policy priorities, such as civic engagement and responsible citizenship. 

The recently adopted European Democracy Shield follows the same approach. It highlights the importance of citizenship skills that enable young people to act responsibly, by fostering critical thinking, inclusivity, freedom of speech and active civic engagement. In this context, the Commission will develop an EU citizenship competence framework, guidelines to strengthen citizenship education in schools, and an EU democracy guide for citizens. The latter will focus, in particular, on young people. 

Chair,

Let me assure you that the European Union will remain a reliable partner in our shared efforts to prevent corruption. 

Thank you, Chair.