Corruption and the European Union: Comparative Analysis of Romania, Spain and France

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While is common knowledge that corruption is detrimental to all types of political society, it is often associated solely with developing countries. Its presence in Western countries, particularly in Europe, is only rarely discussed. Moreover, acting on corruption as an international problem remains atypical, hence the significance of the European Union's attempts to tackle corruption in the last few years. This research will examine the regulation put in place by the EU, as well as its efficacy ( or lack thereof). Another area of investigation will be the extent to which different EU countries are able to manage corruption internally and in relation to the EU. For this, a representative sample of members states has been chosen: Romania, Spain and France. Jointly, they proivide a comprehensive representation of the governance of corruption within the EU, since the rationale for selecting these countries is influenced by the core-periphery dynamics present in the EU; France is in the core, Romania is in the periphery, and Spain, it can be argued, is in the semi-periphery. Cross-site analysis will allow the identification of common patterns and differences whilst retaining thorough description. The research will adopt the grounded theory approach. The data will be collected through desk research as well as through field research, which will include interviews with key stakeholders (policy-makeers, politicans, lawyers, academics, etc). The research will fill a major gap in the literature of corruption.