Cum-Ex or mask affair: Germany is too weak against corruption – Economy

Cum-Ex, mask affair, corruption by EU parliamentarians: An index by Transparency International shows that trust in the integrity of politics and business has been weakened.

“Germany hasn’t made any significant progress in fighting corruption for ten years,” says Margarete Bause, deputy chairwoman of Transparency International Germany. On Tuesday morning, the NGO published the Corruption Perceptions Index 2022. The result: “Scandals such as the mask affair or Cum-Ex have recently weakened trust in the integrity of politics and business,” said Bause. The study covers 180 countries and uses surveys to evaluate perceived corruption in politics and administration.

Germany ranks ninth behind Sweden, Switzerland and the Netherlands. Denmark is the leader with 90 points on a scale from 0 (high level of perceived corruption) to 100 (no perceived corruption). Somalia comes last with twelve points. Germany lost slightly compared to the previous year and received 79 points – the lowest number of points since 2014. “As a lesson from the mask scandal and the Azerbaijan affair, a tightening of the law on bribery of MPs is overdue,” Bause continues.

In 2012, the autocratically ruled country of Azerbaijan gave some German, British and Italian delegates to the Council of Europe money, luxury travel and caviar in a bid to win a vote in the Parliamentary Assembly. This “caviar diplomacy” caught on. Most recently, EU parliamentarians received suitcases full of cash from Qatar and Morocco – in return for the political support of these states. One speaks of strategic corruption.

“The applicable rules of conduct were neither implemented nor checked”

The G7 states did not name corruption as a threat to national security until 2022. According to Transparency, the federal government must follow suit and make combating corruption a priority, for example by anchoring it in the national security strategy.

“Around the world, autocratic states are using corruption as a weapon to assert their interests and undermine political, social and economic stability in democratic countries,” says Alexandra Herzog, chairwoman of Transparency International Germany. The federal government must make combating corruption a priority and take significantly more action against money laundering and covert transnational money flows. Looking at the corruption scandal in the European Parliament, after which parliamentarians are only now reporting their gifts and sponsored trips, it becomes clear “that the applicable rules of conduct have neither been implemented nor checked. That’s frightening,” says Herzog.

According to Transparency International, the long-term consequences of strategic corruption can be seen in the context of the Russian attack on Ukraine: “Over the years, Russia has built up a network of influence at federal and state level with the help of massive financial resources.” Last but not least, examples of this include lucrative posts for former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, support for AfD politicians, funding for the state’s own “Foundation for Climate and Environmental Protection MV” and disinformation campaigns. Precisely because of this, Russia has succeeded in influencing political decisions – for example in energy policy – and in strengthening its geostrategic position.

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