The European Union unveiled proposals on Wednesday to crack down on corruption in the bloc, including a plan for a “blacklist” to punish non-EU individuals accused of corruption worldwide.
The European Commission proposed that individuals and entities who committed “serious acts of corruption” would see their assets frozen in the EU and be banned from the bloc.
The plans will still need to be approved by the EU’s 27 member states.
The proposals are similar to the US Magnitsky Act, a law under which Washington punishes foreign government officials implicated in corruption or human rights abuses.
The act is named after Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, who died in a Russian prison in pre-trial detention in 2009 amid allegations of mistreatment.
Brussels’ new mechanism would allow the EU to impose sanctions “when acts of corruption seriously affect or risk affecting the objectives of the (EU’s) common foreign and security policy,” the commission said in a statement.
“We are sending a clear message: the EU is not open for business to those who engage in corruption, wherever that occurs,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said.
Serious acts of corruption included in the commission’s definition are bribery of a public official, and embezzlement of public funds, especially in a country that is deemed to be non-cooperative in tax matters or failing to fight money laundering and terrorism financing.
“Insidious acts of corruption can also threaten peace and international security, enabling terrorism, organised crime and other crimes. So that’s why we have to enlarge our scope and tackle corruption worldwide,” Borrell said.
Commission Vice President Vera Jourova said the proposals were similar to other EU sanctions, such as against Russian individuals linked to the invasion of Ukraine, but they did not target any specific country.
The EU already implemented a mechanism in late 2020 that sanctions individuals held responsible for “serious violations of human rights” around the world.
An individual would be added to the EU’s “blacklist” once the foreign policy chief formally proposes a name, which then has to be endorsed unanimously by member states.
Anyone targeted will be able to challenge the decision at the European Court of Justice.
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