Financial Transparency Coalition

Most European Union countries fail to legally protect whistleblowers enough from retaliation in the workplace, shutting out an important actor in the fight against corruption, according to a new report from Transparency International. Whistleblowers play a prominent role exposing and preventing corruption, yet only four EU countries – Luxembourg, Romania, Slovenia and the United Kingdom – have advanced whistleblower protection laws in place, according to the report Whistleblowing in Europe. Only in these four countries would a government or company employee who discloses serious wrongdoing be adequately protected by law from being fired or harassed. Of the remaining 23 EU countries...

The world is changing. The United Nations Development Programme projects that by 2020, “the combined economic output of three leading developing countries alone – Brazil, China and India – will surpass the aggregate production of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States.” The growing importance of emerging markets means their impact is felt broadly around the world. Thus it is important companies from emerging markets do all they can to stop corruption from being a part of their business. As markets become global, the ethical and transparency standards of companies must become higher and more universally...

BERLIN - The well-publicised trial of Bo Xilai, a former politburo member and populist politician, for corruption and abuse of power does not prove China is serious about fighting corruption. Nor does it show that no one, not even a powerful politician, is above the rule of law. This elaborately choreographed prosecution is simply an exercise in demonstrating where power lies in an authoritarian state. In March Transparency International welcomed China’s strong commitment to fighting corruption and called on the authorities to take concrete steps to uphold best international practices for preventing and prosecuting corruption both at home and abroad....

Croatia became EU member number 28 today. After Tudjman and Milosevic and a bloody war 20 years ago in the Balkans, this is definitely good news for both the European Union and Croatia. The new story of the Balkans started with disintegration 20-odd years ago, but Croatia’s membership is a clear sign of the era of re-integration. We can only hope that the engine of the EU project will not be switched back into a reverse mode, and Croatia’s membership will give new incentives for the others in the Balkans to join the EU.