50% of European corruption is made in Italy. In our country, bad business is worth 60 billion euros a year (4% of GDP), exactly half of the 120 products in the whole EU. The sad record emerges from the first report of the European Commission on corruption presented today by Celicia Malmstrom, Commissioner for Home Affairs.
In Italy, more than 10% of tenders for public contracts are vitiated by bribes and favors of various kinds, while in France and the Netherlands the figure stands at 3 and 1% respectively. According to Brussels, the new Italian law against corruption "leaves various problems unsolved", because "it does not change the statute of limitations, the law on false accounting and self-laundering and does not introduce crimes for the exchange of votes".
Europe also points the finger at the lack of effective rules against conflicts of interest, also noting that "attempts" to adopt rules to guarantee effective processes have "several times been hampered by ad personam laws": from the Alfano award to the ex Cirielli, from the decriminalization of false accounting to the legitimate impediment.
"In Italy the links between politicians, organized crime and businesses - continues the Commission -, combined with the low level of integrity of the holders of elected and government offices are among the most worrying aspects, as evidenced by the high number of investigations for corruption" .
The report also recalls that only in 2012 were criminal investigations and pre-trial detention orders issued against local politicians in about half of the 20 Italian regions. In addition, 201 municipal councils have been dissolved, 28 of which since 2010, for alleged criminal infiltration, and more than 30 deputies of the previous legislature have been investigated for crimes related to corruption or illegal financing of parties.
