Businesses’ attitudes towards corruption in the EU

Corruption is harmful to society. It constitutes a threat to security as it enables and drives organised crime, terrorism, and other forms of crimes, including money-laundering or drug trafficking. Corruption deepens inequalities, erodes citizens’ trust in public institutions, undermines good governance and social justice, and constitutes a serious threat to the rule of law, democracy and fundamental rights. Corruption also has a negative impact on prosperity and economic growth by creating business uncertainty, lowering investment levels, hampering fair competition and reducing public finances. It also adversely affects government objectives that focus on improving income disparity and environmental protection.

The European Commission (EC) has been given a political mandate to measure efforts in the fight against corruption and to develop a comprehensive EU anti-corruption policy. On 3 May 2023, the European Commission adopted anti-corruption measures. This includes a proposal for a new Directive on combating corruption by criminal law. It aims to update and harmonise EU rules on definitions and penalties for corruption offences to ensure high standards against the full range of corruption crimes. It provides also for corruption prevention. Prevention helps to support a culture of integrity, in which corruption and impunity are not tolerated.

This Eurobarometer survey, first conducted in 2013, and repeated in 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2022 , is designed to explore the level of corruption perceived and experienced by businesses employing one or more persons in the following six key sectors: energy, mining, oil and gas, chemicals; healthcare and pharmaceutical; engineering and electronics, motor vehicles; construction and building; telecommunications and information technologies; and financial services, banking and investment.

The survey covers a range of areas, including:

• Businesses’ perception of the level of corruption in their country;
• The prevalence of practices leading to corruption;
• How corruption is investigated, prosecuted and sanctioned.;
• Problems encountered when doing business;
• Corrupt practices in public tender and public procurement procedures.

For this Flash Eurobarometer, a representative sample of businesses, employing one or more persons in six key sectors (see above) was interviewed between 20 March 2023 and 6 April 2023 by Ipsos European Public Affairs. Interviews took place via telephone with someone with decision-making responsibilities in the company (managing director, general manager, CEO, financial director), someone leading the commercial activities (commercial manager, sales manager, marketing manager) or a legal officer. In total, 12.875 interviews were conducted.