WIREDGOV

On the sidelines of the recent Chatham House conference on global corruption, Maria Åsenius, Head of Cabinet for the EU Commissioner for Home Affairs said, 'There is no country in the EU that has zero problems, that can say it is corruption free'.

This follows the release recently of the first-ever report on corruption in the EU by the European Commission. The report finds that corruption costs the EU economy €120 billion annually.

Ms Åsenius added: 'We hope that the member states will take these reports positively and really engage with us in the future. We are ready to go to the different member states and...work with them'

Regarding the UK, Ms Åsenius commented: 'We singled out that the UK should do more to fight corruption, as concerns foreign bribery.'

Also speaking at the recent conference was Angel Gurría, Secretary-General of the OECD, who said:

'Our decisions, our agreements, our treaties and conventions, but most of all, our actions, can reduce the living space for bribery and dishonesty. We can eradicate corruption. But for that we need a collective response, a multilateral effort, and a multidisciplinary programme.'

Notes to Editors

Read more on the Chatham House conference, Combating Global Corruption.

Read transcript of Maria Åsenius's comments.

Read transcript of Angel Gurría's speech.