Changes from plenary report to adopted text

RemovedRecital 33 b (new): (33b) Victims of corruption often lack representation in legal processes, consultation in corruption investigations, and opportunities for compensation. In practice, enforcing actions against international corruption often neglects the involvement and rights of victims, creating a significant gap where victims remain largely unknown. Member States should safeguard the rights of victims, ensuring their perspectives are voiced and considered without compromising the rights of the defence during criminal proceedings against offenders. The compensation of victims represents the essence of justice and victims should be empowered to seek remedies. Therefore, Member States should implement measures allowing individuals or entities harmed by acts of corruption to initiate legal actions against the responsible parties to seek appropriate compensation.

RemovedRecital 34: (34) Corruption is a cross-cutting issue, while vulnerabilities differ from sector to sector, as well as the most adequate way to tackle them. Member States should therefore regularly perform an assessment to identify the sectors most at risk of corruption and develop risk management plans to address the main risks in the sectors identified, including by organising, at least once a year, awareness-raising actions adapted to the specificities of the sectors identified. Member States that have broad national anti-corruption strategies in place, may also choose to address their risk assessments and risk management plans therein, as long as the risks are assessed and the measures are reviewed regularly. For instance, investor residence and citizenship schemes are among the sectors that bear high risks for corruption59 and should therefore be completely banned by the Member States.

RemovedRecital 34 a (new): (34a) The European Commission should support Member States and their authorities to comply with the obligations stemming from this Directive. In particular, the Commission should offer guidance and support to Member States in enhancing the capacity of their institutions, strengthening investigative bodies and the judiciary in order to respond better to risks of corruption identified at national and Union level.

RemovedRecital 34 b (new): (34b) The EU network against corruption should bring together the expertise and resources of Member States, Union institutions, civil society, and the private sector in order to develop comprehensive strategies and share best practices in the fight against corruption. It should serve as a platform for cooperation, coordination, and information sharing, including with international organisations and bodies, thus allowing the Union to combat corruption more effectively.

RemovedRecital 34 c (new): (34c) To ensure coordinated EU oversight over the efforts of Member States to tackle corruption, Member States should facilitate the tasks of an EU Anti-Corruption Coordinator. The Coordinator should be responsible for improving coordination and coherence among EU institutions, EU agencies and Member States and should contribute to the effective application of this Directive. To ensure implementation of the country-specific recommendations in regards to combatting corruption set out in the Commission annual Rule of Law Report, the Coordinator should report on the actions that Member States take to address and fulfil them. On its own initiative, or upon the request of the Commission, the Anti-Corruption Coordinator may draw up opinions regarding national measures which may have a significant impact on the implementation of this Directive, including the national anti-corruption strategies of the Member States.

RemovedRecital 34 d (new): (34d) In order to ensure a comprehensive overview and assessment of the corruption related trends and systemic corruption issues across the EU, including the identification of areas that have been affected most by the misappropriation of EU funds, the Commission should develop a yearly Anti-corruption Report, which should provide concrete and actionable recommendations to Member States to act upon in order to address identified shortcomings.

RemovedRecital 35: (35) To provide for an equivalent level of protection between the Union’s and the national financial interests, the provisions of Directive (EU) 2017/137160 should be aligned with the standards set out in this Directive. To this end, Member States should ensure that offences covered by this Directive constitute offences also when affecting the Union’s financial interests. Therefore, the standards set out by Directive (EU) 2017/1371 for fighting corruption affecting the Union’s financial interests, in particular in terms of definitions of criminal offences, sanctions, limitation periods, aggravating and mitigating circumstances and jurisdiction should be equivalent to those laid down by this Directive.

RemovedArticle 1 – paragraph 1: This Directive establishes minimum rules concerning the definition of criminal offences and sanctions in the area of corruption, as well as measures to prevent and fight corruption at the national and Union level.

RemovedArticle 2 – paragraph 1 – point 1: 1. ‘prevention of corruption’ refers to the proactive identification, detection and elimination of the causes of and conditions for corruption in the public and private sector, through development and implementation of a comprehensive system of appropriate measures and necessary tools to reduce the potential for corruption, as well as to deter corruption-related acts at the national and Union level.

RemovedArticle 2 – paragraph 1 – point 2: 2. ‘property’ means funds or assets of any kind, including crypto assets, whether corporeal or incorporeal, movable or immovable, financial or non-financial tangible or intangible, and legal documents or instruments in any form, including electronic or digital, evidencing title to, or an interest in, such assets.

RemovedArticle 2 – paragraph 1 – point 3 – point b: (b) any other person assigned or exercising a public service function or providing a public service in Member States or third countries, for an international organisation or for an international court.

RemovedArticle 2 – paragraph 1 – point 4 – point a: (a) a member of an institution, body, office or agency of the Union and the staff of such bodies shall be assimilated to Union officials inasmuch as the Staff Regulations of Officials and the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Union laid down in Council Regulation (EEC, Euratom, ECSC) No 259/68 (the ‘Staff Regulations’) do not apply to them;

RemovedArticle 2 – paragraph 1 – point 5: 5. ‘national official’ means any person holding an executive, administrative, or judicial office or any other person assigned or exercising a public service function at national, regional or local level, whether appointed or elected, whether permanent or temporary, whether paid or unpaid, irrespective of that person’s seniority, or any person entrusted with tasks of public interest or in charge of a public service. Any person holding a legislative office at national, regional or local level shall be assimilated to a national official for the purpose of this Directive.

RemovedArticle 2 – paragraph 1 – point 6 a (new): 6a. 'conflict of interests' means a situation where the impartial and objective exercise of the functions of a public official is compromised for reasons involving family, emotional life, political or national affinity, economic interest or any other direct or indirect personal interest;

RemovedArticle 2 – paragraph 1 – point 7: 7. ‘legal person’ means any entity recognised as having legal personality under the applicable national law, except for States or public bodies in the exercise of State authority and for public international organisations.

RemovedArticle 2 – paragraph 1 – point 8: 8. ‘high level officials’ are heads of state, heads of central and regional government, members of central and regional government, members of the College of Commissioners of the European Commission, as well as other political appointees who hold a high level public office at Union level, such as the President of the European Council, or at national level, such as deputy ministers, state secretaries, heads and members of a minister’s private office, and senior political officials, as well as members of parliamentary chambers, members of the European Parliament, members of highest Courts, such as Constitutional and Supreme Courts, military officials, senior executives of state owned corporations, managing officials of political parties whose members or candidates are members of a parliament, and members of Supreme Audit Institutions;

RemovedArticle 2 – paragraph 1 – point 8 a (new): 8a. ‘victim’ means a victim as defined in Article 2(1), point (a), of Directive 2012/29/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council, as well as a legal person, as defined in national law, that has suffered harm as a result of any of the offences within the scope of this Directive;

RemovedArticle 2 – paragraph 1 – point 8 b (new): 8b. 'public concerned’ means the persons affected or likely to be affected by the criminal offences within the scope of this Directive; for the purposes of this definition, non-governmental organisations meeting any proportionate requirements under national law shall be deemed to have an interest.

RemovedArticle 3 – paragraph 1: 1. Member States, as well as the institutions, bodies, offices and agencies of the Union, shall take appropriate action, including information and awareness-raising campaigns and research and education for public integrity programmes, to raise public awareness among the public and private sector on the harmfulness and real impact of corruption, including on public budgets and to reduce the overall commission of corruption offences as well as the risk of corruption.

RemovedArticle 3 – paragraph 2: 2. Member States, as well the institutions, bodies, offices and agencies of the Union shall, within the limits of their respective administrations and public decision-making processes, take measures to ensure the highest degree of integrity, transparency and accountability, through merit-based recruitment and promotion, while ensuring that citizens are adequately informed, with a view to prevent corruption.

RemovedArticle 3 – paragraph 3: 3. Member States shall take measures to ensure that key preventive tools are in place, such as:

RemovedArticle 3 – paragraph 3 – point a (new): (a) an anticorruption strategy and action plan drafted with the participation of competent authorities, including the relevant specialised bodies referred to in Article 4, and with the involvement of civil society;

RemovedArticle 3 – paragraph 3 – point b (new): (b) an open access to information of public interest;

RemovedArticle 3 – paragraph 3 – point c (new): (c) effective rules for the disclosure and management of conflicts of interests in the public sector, including ad-hoc disclosure of new conflicts as they arise, and establishing sanctions for failure to report substantial assets or interests;

RemovedArticle 3 – paragraph 3 – point d (new): (d) effective rules for the periodic and risk-based disclosure and verification of assets and interests of public officials and establishing sanctions for failure to report substantial assets or interests;

RemovedArticle 3 – paragraph 3 – point e (new): (e) effective rules addressing the interaction between the private and the public sector, including regulation of interest representation and revolving doors situations comprising of: / - establishing a code of conduct for public officials, including rules for their interactions with persons or private entities carrying out interest representation; / - establishing minimum required information to be publically disclosed in regards to the interaction between public officials and persons or private entities carrying out interest representation, including the proactive publication of lobby meetings; / - establishing of a public legislative footprint; / - establishing the obligation for all persons or private entities, including associations, who engage in interest representation to disclose corporate membership and to register in a transparency register, which shall provide public and easily accessible information through a single gateway; and / - regulating the movement of public officials from positions of public office to positions in the same field in the private sector as well as enforcing restrictions on post-term employment.

RemovedArticle 3 – paragraph 3 – point f (new): (f) elimination of administrative barriers and regulatory complexity that hinder timely decision-making on citizens' requests and condition their access to information and the decision-making process;

RemovedArticle 3 – paragraph 3 – point g (new): (g) effective measures to ban citizenship by investment and residency by investment schemes.

RemovedArticle 3 – paragraph 3 a (new): 3a. Member States shall ensure that information to be disclosed according to measures listed in points (b), (c), (d) and (e) of paragraph 3 is accessible via electronic systems, and available in machine readable format across the Union. Access to such information shall be provided in accordance with applicable national law and in full compliance with fundamental rights, as enshrined in Union law.

RemovedArticle 3 – paragraph 3 b (new): 3b. Institutions, bodies, offices and agencies of the Union shall take measures to ensure that key preventive tools, including at least the preventive tools listed under paragraphs 3 and 3a of this Article, are in place in their respective administrations.

RemovedArticle 3 – paragraph 3 c (new): 3c. Member States shall take measures to ensure transparency in the funding of candidatures for elected public officials and political parties, through annual reporting mechanisms, such as effective rules for the reporting, audit and disclosure of political party finance, equal obligations to collect and publish all data on income, liabilities and expenditure for participants in election campaigns.

RemovedArticle 3 – paragraph 4 – introductory part: 4. Member States shall adopt comprehensive and periodically reviewed measures to prevent corruption in both the public and private sectors, tailored to the specific risks of an area of activity. Such measures shall at least target common high-risk areas and shall at least include actions to identify and fight against organised crime or other serious crime, to strengthen integrity, transparency and accountability and to prevent opportunities for corruption among:

RemovedArticle 3 – paragraph 4 – point a: (a) high level officials, including measures relating to the conduct to be followed during and after the performance of their public function;

RemovedArticle 3 – paragraph 4 – point b: (b) members of law enforcement, intelligence agencies and the judiciary, including measures relating to their merit-based appointment, promotion and dismissal, and measures related to conduct, and by ensuring adequate remuneration and equitable pay scales.

RemovedArticle 3 – paragraph 4 a (new): 4a. The institutions, bodies, offices and agencies of the Union shall put in place comprehensive and up-to-date measures to prevent corruption of Union officials, adapted to the specific risks of the areas of activity covered by their respective administrations. Such measures shall at least include actions to strengthen integrity, transparency and accountability, and to prevent opportunities for corruption among high level Union officials, including measures relating to their appointment and the conduct to be followed during and after the performance of their public function.

RemovedArticle 3 – paragraph 4 b (new): 4b. Member States shall take measures to create a strong public service culture, based on integrity, transparency and accountability, ensuring that national officials are adequately remunerated, have the appropriate information, training and support to deal with both the increased professional standards and the tasks in implementing their mandate, and that they are aware of conflict of interest situations and of the risks of corruption and financial and economic crimes.

RemovedArticle 3 – paragraph 5 – subparagraph 1: Member States, as well the institutions, bodies, offices and agencies of the Union, shall annually perform an assessment to identify the sectors most at risk of corruption. In performing such assessment, Member States shall take into account, in particular, the Commission’s annual Rule of Law Report and the EU Anti-corruption Report referred to in Article 26a of this Directive.

RemovedArticle 3 – paragraph 5 – subparagraph 2 – introductory part: Following that assessment, Member States as well the institutions, bodies, offices and agencies of the Union shall, within the limits of their respective competences and mandate:

RemovedArticle 3 – paragraph 5 – subparagraph 2 – point b: (b) develop anti-corruption action plans, with implementation and monitoring mechanisms to address the main risks in the sectors identified; these plans shall identify trends in the corruption offences covered by this Directive as well as measures to reduce risks and ways to react to illicit practices;

RemovedArticle 3 – paragraph 5 – subparagraph 2 – point b a (new): (ba) monitor that sectors identified as at risk of corruption adequately implement the actions indicated in the plans referred to in point (b) of this paragraph, and effectively apply the key preventive tools referred to in paragraph 3 of this Article;

RemovedArticle 3 – paragraph 5 – subparagraph 2 – point b b (new): (bb) ensure that the results of the assessments are available to the public.

RemovedArticle 3 – paragraph 5 a (new): 5a. Member States shall take appropriate measures to promote transparency and accountability in the management of public finances. Member States shall, in particular, take the necessary steps to establish appropriate systems of procurement, based on transparency, competition and objective criteria in decision-making. Member States shall publish information in open data formats including, but not limited to, government budgets, government spending, public procurement, voting records, permits and concessions, and state subsidies.

RemovedArticle 3 – paragraph 6: 6. Member States as well the institutions, bodies, offices and agencies of the Union shall actively and regularly engage with and consult civil society, non-governmental organizations and community-based organizations and academia in the development, monitoring, and assessment of anti-corruption laws and policies. Member States shall establish an enabling environment for civil society to work and have meaningful engagement in anti-corruption activities. Member States shall further promote available reporting mechanisms and publicising rights relating to the protection of persons who report breaches of Union law.

RemovedArticle 3 – paragraph 6 a (new): 6a. Member States shall take measures to prevent corruption involving the private sector through the development of codes of conduct, enhancing accounting and auditing standards, as well as internal controls and transparency, considering external auditing, particularly in high risk sectors and promoting cooperation with law enforcement.

RemovedArticle 4 – paragraph 1: The tasks of such bodies or organisation units shall include: / (a) the management of asset declarations of public officials; / (b) monitoring compliance with transparency rules applicable to public officials and public entities and to the financing of political parties, and the enforcement of sanctions related to breaches of such provisions and rules; / (c) monitoring compliance with the statutory provisions and rules related to conflicts of interests in the public and private sectors, and the enforcement of sanctions related to breaches of such provisions and rules; / (d) the issuing of warnings related to risks of corruption; / (e) cooperation with competent authorities, bodies or organizational units specialized in the repression of corruption.

RemovedArticle 4 – paragraph 2: 2. Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that one or several bodies, or organisational units specialised in the repression and investigation of corruption is or are in place. The tasks of such bodies shall include the detection, investigation and prosecution of the offences referred to in this Directive, including through evidence gathering and inter-agency cooperation, and the enforcement of sanctions.

RemovedArticle 4 – paragraph 2 a (new): 2a. Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that an organisational unit specialised in the identification, notification, representation and coordination of victims of corruption is in place.

RemovedArticle 4 – paragraph 3 – introductory part: 3. Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that the body or bodies, or an organisation unit or units as referred to in paragraph 1, 2 and 2a:

RemovedArticle 4 – paragraph 3 – point a: (a) are independent from the government and able to autonomously take decisions on individual cases, carry out their functions free from undue political interferences, and are continually provided with a sufficient number of qualified staff, including on the operational level, and the financial, technical and technological resources, as well as the powers and tools necessary to ensure the effective performance and the proper administration of their tasks;

RemovedArticle 4 – paragraph 3 – point a a (new): (aa) are managed by executive member or members who, in the performance of their tasks and exercise of their powers in accordance with this Directive, shall remain free from external influence whether direct or indirect, and shall neither seek nor take instructions from anybody, and who shall be provided with an adequate and sufficient term of office, ensuring political independence; the executive member or members shall be appointed through a transparent, open and non-discriminatory procedure in accordance with the principle of legislative oversight; the selection criteria shall be predictable and known no less than 1 year before the planned appointment;

RemovedArticle 4 – paragraph 3 – point c a (new): (ca) provide annual reports on their activities and their results, submit those reports to the relevant executive and legislative bodies and publish them on their websites;

RemovedArticle 4 – paragraph 3 – point c b (new): (cb) provide and update annually a database on cases of corruption, including convictions, damages and assets recovered;

RemovedArticle 4 – paragraph 3 – point c c (new): (cc) receive and process complaints related to breaches of rules on the prevention of corruption, including those adopted under the key preventing tools referred to in Article 3(3);

RemovedArticle 4 – paragraph 3 – point c d (new): (cd) are consulted in the process of development and formulation of a national anti-corruption strategy referred to in point (a) of Article 3(3);

RemovedArticle 4 – paragraph 3 – point d: (d) operate and take decisions in accordance with transparent procedures established by law and subject to internal oversight and accountability mechanisms;

RemovedArticle 4 – paragraph 3 – point d a (new): (da) operate in line with the objective of increasing their efficiency.

RemovedArticle 4 – paragraph 3 a (new): 3a. The bodies and units referred to in paragraph 1 shall cooperate with the corresponding units in other Member States.

RemovedArticle 5 – paragraph 1: Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that national authorities competent for the detection, investigation, prosecution or adjudication of the criminal offences and for the preventive measures referred to in this Directive are consistently proactively and continually provided with an adequate number of qualified staff and the financial, technical and technological resources necessary for the effective performance of their functions related to the implementation of this Directive.

RemovedArticle 6 – paragraph 1: 1. Each Member State shall take the necessary measures to ensure adequate resources for and the provision of training at a regular interval for its national officials to be able to prevent and identify different forms of corruption and corruption risks that may occur in the exercise of their duties and to react in a timely and appropriate manner to any suspicious activity.

RemovedArticle 6 – paragraph 1 a (new): 1a. The institutions, bodies, offices and agencies of the Union shall take necessary measures to ensure adequate resources for and the provision of training for Union officials to be able to identify different forms of corruption and corruption risks that may occur in the exercise of their duties and to react in a timely and appropriate manner to any suspicious activity.