The Parliament gives the green light to the new EU regulations against corruption

The Directive, provisionally agreed between Parliament and the Council in December 2025, establishes common definitions of corruption offences, including bribery, embezzlement, obstruction of justice, trading in influence, the unlawful exercise of functions, illicit enrichment linked to corruption, concealment and corruption in the private sector, and harmonises the rules on penalties. The text was adopted with 581 votes in favour, 21 against and 42 abstentions.

A common approach to deterrence and sanctions

By modernising existing rules, harmonising legal definitions and introducing structured levels of sanctions, the new framework aims to address enforcement gaps, particularly in cross-border cases. The sanctions system is structured around EU-wide maximum penalties, i.e. ensuring that the maximum punishment for corruption offences is not too high in any Member State. Countries will retain the option to adopt stricter rules and adapt the provisions to their national legal systems.

Cooperation to tackle existing and emerging challenges

The legislation strengthens cooperation between national authorities and EU bodies — including the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, Europol and Eurojust — whilst improving information exchange and coordination. Member States will be required to publish comparable and automated data annually, in order to improve transparency and evidence-based policy-making.

National strategies and requirements for independent bodies

To strengthen prevention and governance, Member States must adopt and regularly update national anti-corruption strategies (involving civil society in the process). They will also have to carry out risk assessments and ensure robust systems regarding conflicts of interest, transparency of political funding and integrity standards. They must also have dedicated and sufficiently independent bodies to prevent and combat corruption.

Statement by the rapporteur

Raquel García Hermida-van der Walle (Renew, Netherlands) commented: “This law is historic. Corruption has silenced journalists, led to the murder of citizens and cut short lives. Behind every statistic there is a name, a story and a future denied. Corruption also drains billions from our economies, erodes trust in government and undermines democracy itself. If left unchecked, it threatens the very foundation of our Union. This law seeks to defend Europe at its core and deliver results for our citizens.”

Next steps

The Directive must be formally adopted by the Council before entering into force twenty days after its publication in the Official Journal of the EU. Member States will then have twenty-four months to transpose the changes into national law, with the exception of the provisions on risk assessments and national strategies, for which they will have thirty-six months.

Background

On 3 May 2023, the Commission presented an anti-corruption package. Based on Article 83 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, the text defined corruption as an area of ‘particularly serious crime with a cross-border dimension’ and included measures to improve both the prevention and the fight against corruption. According to a 2025 Eurobarometer survey, 69% of Europeans believe that corruption is widespread in their country, whilst 66% believe that high-level corruption cases are not prosecuted sufficiently.