Mind the Trap: Breaking the Anticorruption Deadlock in the Western Balkans Daniela Mineva, Senior Analyst, Center for the Study of Democracy, Bulgaria 3 October 2024, Tirana This event is organised with the financial support of the European Union. [...] The views expressed during this event are the sole responsibility of the participants and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union. [...] External assistance and national measures could be effective if they proceed from an assumption of state capture The mechanism of state capture The mapping of state capture should be mainstreamed into assistance design An algorithm for assessing the risk of capture of EU assistance In the 2020 Economic and Investment Plan for the Western Balkans and the May 2024 approval by the Council of the EU o. [...] Recommendations • Focusing on impact: Result-oriented targets to be introduced in all Regular Reports on Enlargement and EU’s Rule of Law Report; • Improving the legal base: The proposal for a new EU Directive combating corruption should be adopted swiftly, leading to the harmonization of the legal definitions, the criminalization of corruption crimes. [...] • Showing a stronger commitment to the European future of the Western Balkans: The European Commission and the local EU Delegations could expand their direct interaction with policy-makers and civil society in the region through informal Councils, regular Ministerial-level meetings, technical committees, and Commission working groups, as foreseen in the 2018 EU Strategy on the Western Balkans.
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Table of Contents
- Mind the Trap Breaking the Anticorruption 1
- Deadlock in the Western Balkans 1
- SELDIs Risk Assessment and Advocacy Tools 2
- SELDI supports evidence-based decision-making of public bodies through its tools Corruption Monitoring System CMS Monitoring Anticorruption Policy Implementation MACPI 2
- Micro Institutional 2
- MACPI State Capture SCAD incl at sectoral level 2
- Regional developments 3
- Western Balkans democratic reforms and a considerable 3
- Progress uneven driven by external support civil society Box-ticking reforms tolerated due to weak conditionality Corruption progress varies 10 bribery in Montenegro 40 3
- Political corruption remains considerable perpetuating 3
- Bribery rates in the Western Balkan societies 4
- Citizens experience bribing is mostly a 5
- Susceptibility to corruption 6
- Anticorruption optimism has changed little 7
- Anticorruption policies and institutions 8
- From soft politics to hard assistance how to 9
- External assistance and national measures could be 10
- The mapping of state capture should be 11
- Recommendations 12
- Focusing on impact 12
- Improving the legal base 12
- Enhancing investigation and prosecution of high-level 12
- More efficient prevention and corruption risk assessment 12
- Recommendations 13
- Involving civil society 13
- Implementing strict investment screening mechanisms 13
- Capacity building 13
- Showing a stronger commitment to the European future of 13
