EU as a good governance promoter.

• Author: Mungiu-Pippidi, Alina
• Position: A word from the editor

Discontent with poor governance is on the rise in Europe. In comparison to the 2007 results, the 2009 Eurobarometer showed that a significantly higher number of respondents believe that "corruption is a problem for all levels of government." In the most troubling cases (Greece, Bulgaria, Hungary, Malta, Cyprus, Slovenia, Portugal and Romania), at least nine out of ten respondents believe that corruption is a major national problem.

Of these cases, Bulgaria and Romania joined the European Union in 2007, and their poor governance was a matter of concern for the EU throughout their accession process. In fact, they have been the object of one of the most intense campaigns of institutional transfer ever, with the EU invested in reforming their entire law enforcement and administrative apparatus. Hungary, Malta, Cyprus, and Slovenia joined in 2004 alongside six other postcommunist countries, (which, according to Transparency International, also have problematic corruption levels). Greece and Portugal became EU members decades ago, but their citizens perceive corruption at every governmental level--national, regional and local- to be a major problem. As Greece and Portugal have also been experiencing serious budget problems, which are stretching the management of the EU common currency in 2010, EU leadership has started taking such popular perceptions seriously. In the latest EU strategy in the field of justice and security, the European Council calls upon the European Commission to develop new instruments to monitor and control corruption and financial crime in all member states.

The idea of monitoring good governance across old and new EU member states alike is novel and would have been...