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Infrastructure of Integrity - Corruption and anti-corruption pledges in the Western Balkan (Executive Summary)

Corruption is one of the main challenges to the rule of law, life chances and people’s livelihoods in the Western Balkans. It is both a cause and consequence of a criminal culture that permeates the region, and the way that corruption is linked to politics suggests a degree of organized corruption, and even elements of state capture, in a number of countries in the region. Typical manifestations of high-level organized corruption in the six countries of the Western Balkans (WB6)1 are Wild West-style selling and buying of public property by political elites and their associates in the business and criminal spheres ; corrupt tendering for infrastructure projects (such as construction of roads) ; inside deals struck with loyal partners, either for procurement or privatization processes ; concealment of ownership ; fraud and embezzlement of public funds ; non-disclosure (or false disclosure) of assets ; money laundering (both locally and offshore) ; and abuse of public office. The systemic threat posed by corruption in the region is also evident when individuals or entities finance political parties in return for favours. These include undeclared sources of funding ; the buying of political support by handing out gifts and favours ; and using public funds, and appointments in the civil service or state-owned enterprises as tools to build a patronage network of political dependency. In this way, political, business and criminal elites collude to preserve and protect their interests and influence over public functions and resources. These practices create a fertile environment for corrupt officials to operate with impunity. Despite the severity of the problem, society in the region seems to have become inured to the reality of high-level state corruption. There is a pervasive sense that this is just the way things are and the system cannot be changed. This learned helplessness is perpetuated by a lack of independence or professional capacity within institutions whose role it is to tackle corruption. There are few convictions in high-profile cases of organized corruption yet draconian restrictions imposed by the authorities on the media, including threats and sanctions against those who speak out against corruption (especially large-scale corruption). 2 INFRASTRUCTURE OF INTEGRITY In the Western Balkans there is little research on corruption and organized crime, and there is near silence within academia and intelligentsia on the subject. Regionally, there is also limited engagement by civil society on the topic of corruption. Many initiatives, including this report, rely on external support. This report is based on analysis provided by experts who examined corruption and its impact on governance in each country of the WB6, and reviewed each country’s anti-corruption frameworks as well as government efforts to tackle corruption. In particular, it looks at how the governments of the six countries are implementing their own anti-corruption pledges made in the context of the Berlin Process, an initiative aimed at stepping up regional cooperation in the Western Balkans and aiding the integration of these countries into the European Union.2 This report is designed to contribute constructively to the implementation and review process of the anticorruption pledges made as part of the Berlin Process, and highlight areas where further progress is needed.

Anti-Corruption Pledges ; Western Balkan ; Organized Corruption ; Analysis of EU and International Reports concerning corruption ; Berlin Process ; Findings and Recommendations

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