Corruption increasingly difficult to detect

TALLINN - A study on risks involving the use of EU funds has concluded that corruption in Estonia is moving to levels where it is the most difficult to detect, reports Postimees. These levels include a political one.
Estonia was involved in the EU OLAF’s corruption risks survey focusing on EU funding that took place in 2012-2013. According to the study, most opportunities for corruption are found, on one hand, at the top of the system for distributing EU funds (i.e. the political level), and on the other hand, at the local level, where the end beneficiaries of EU funding are.

One of the authors of the study, the Director of the Europe College at the University of Tartu Kristiina Tonnisson, stated that one possible option for those who aim to benefit unfairly from EU funding is to try to bribe a critical number of members of government and hence influence political choices on where the EU funds are directed. The other possible option is the so-called grassroots level, where one can, for example, submit false bills and include ineligible costs in the project reports.

At the so-called middle level, where experts and committees weigh the project applications for EU funding, corruption is much less likely to occur.