School of Politics and International Relations

Corruption: Steer Clear of Politics

27 November 2014

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Sean Parramore, a PhD candidate focussing on corruption in Bosnia and Kosovo at the School of Politics and International Relations at Queen Mary University of London recently (7-11-2014) had an article published in the NRC Handelsblad Friday edition's opinion and debate section, a Dutch national newspaper with a circulation of roughly 200.000 papers (approximate range: 600,000 people).

An English translation of the article can be found below.

Corruption: Steer clear of politics. 

Eulex, the anticorruption mission of the EU in Kosovo, has been embarrassed by a corruption scandal of its own (NRC, 5 November). Citizens’ trust has decreased rather than increased despite the 1 billion euro that was budgeted for the mission. This is because Eulex is mostly accountable to Brussels and not to Kosovo. The new EU foreign policy chief Federica Morgherini promised an investigation, but the case does not end there. The corruption within Eulex concerns more than just a human and institutional failure. It is born out of the schizophrenic mandate of the mission. On one hand Eulex ought to fight corruption, on the other it has a political mandate. The latter has a higher priority in Brussels. This why both high level politicians and Eulex officials are protected. If the mission is to regain her credibility it should steer clear of politics and focus on the fighting corruption. Including in its own ranks. Sean Parramore, PhD on corruption in Bosnia and Kosovo.

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