justsecurity.org
Obstacles to Europe's Emerging Role in Global Anti-Corruption Enforcement
The United States has dominated global anti-corruption enforcement for decades, particularly through its Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), which bans U.S. companies from bribing officials overseas. European countries have historically played a secondary role in anti-corruption enforcement, with European governments such as Germany and France “generally uninterested” and at times “firmly opposed” to American efforts to expand international anti-corruption norms. However, the Trump administration has significantly backtracked on the U.S. commitment to anti-corruption enforcement, along with other changes in the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission, the primary hubs for FCPA implementation. Consequently, some observers have pointed to Europe as a potential replacement for American dominance in global anti-corruption enforcement. Europe is rapidly narrowing some of the legal and institutional gaps left by the United States, but whether it can replicate the enforcement capacity and global reach that made the FCPA regime so consequential remains much less clear. Several developments in Europe over the past year reflect a broader shift from historic reluctance toward a more favorable view of anti-corruption enforcement. At the same time, European countries face significant resource and geopolitical constraints that could limit Europe’s ability to fill the emerging enforcement gap, including lack of...
