WRITTEN QUESTION No. 3947/97 by Johannes SWOBODA to the Council. OECD agreement to combat bribery and corruption
Date: 1997-12-15
Institutions: European Parliament, SWOBODA
Subjects: EU police cooperation, OECD, administrative transparency, civil servant, corruption, fight against crime, fraud, judicial cooperation in criminal matters in the EU, organised crime

C 196/40

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

22. 6. 98

Answer given by Mr Liikanen on behalf of the Commission

(2 February 1998)

Educational  policy  and  organisation  are  exclusively  matters  for  the  Board  of  Governors,  which  is  the
intergovernmental body responsible for the European schools. It will therefore be for the Board to decide, when
the time comes, what language sections there are to be in the third European school, which is currently being built
in Brussels. This decision will have to be taken in line with the principles on which the teaching system at the
European schools is based.

As  a  member  of  the  Board  committed  to  the  proper  running  of  the  European  schools,  the  Commission  will
endeavour to ensure that these principles are respected.

(98/C 196/56)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3947/97

by Johannes Swoboda (PSE) to the Council

(15 December 1997)

Subject: OECD agreement to combat bribery and corruption

An agreement to combat bribery and corruption has been reached in the OECD. However, it concerns only the
bribing of public officials.

To what extent does the European Union advocate wider-ranging proscription of and legal action against bribery
and corruption?

Answer

(30 March 1998)

The Council has adopted already a number of measures to combat bribery. The following instruments may be
mentioned:

1.  Convention of 26 May 1997 on the fight against corruption involving officials of the European Communities

or officials of the Member States of the European Union (1).

2.  Convention  of  26  July  1995  on  the  protection  of  the  European  Communities(cid:146)  financial  interests  and  its

protocol of 27 September 1996 which deals specifically with corruption (2).

3.  Common  Positions  of  6  October  and  of  13  November  1997,  both  on  the  negotiations  in  the  Council  of

Europe and the OECD on the fight against corruption (3).

Moreover, the Luxembourg Presidency of the Council proposed a Joint Action to combat corruption within the
private  sector.  This  proposal,  on  which  the  European  Parliament  has  given  an  opinion,  is  currently  being
examined  by  the  competent  working  group  of  the  Council  with  a  view  to  making  good  progress  during  the
coming months. The UK Presidency hopes to reach an agreement before the end of the current semester.

In this context it should be mentioned that the Action Plan against organized crime, approved by the European
Council at Amsterdam in June 1997, contains a specific recommendation (nr 6) aiming at the development of a
comprehensive EU policy to fight corruption in order to enhance transparency in public administration and in
business  and  to  prevent  the  use  by  organised  crime  of  corrupt  practices.  This  is  also  the  objective  of  the
Commission(cid:146)s communication of 21 May 1997 to the European Parliament and the Council on a Union policy
against corruption.

The Council will pursue action against fraud and corruption vigorously.

(1)  OJ C 195/01, 25.06.1997.
(2)  OJ C 316/48, 27.11.1995 and C 313/01, 23.10.1996.
(3)  OJ L 279/01, 13.10.1997 and L 320/01, 21.11.1997.