@phdthesis{8762233,
  abstract     = {{This thesis engages with the alleged EU ambitions-capability gap in the area of anti-corruption – the dysfunctional relationship between the EU’s high ambitions to tackle corruption in associated non-EU countries and its actual legal ability. It claims that the EU’s internal anti-corruption capability, meaning its ability to monitor and enforce the adoption and implementation of anti-corruption rules in EU Member States, has strong implications for its external efforts against corruption. Arguing that there is a permeable partition between the EU’s policy towards EU countries and non-EU countries, this thesis introduces the concept of EU internal-external policy nexus in the area of anti-corruption. This concept suggests that the realisation of the EU’s high ambitions to tackle corruption in associated non-EU countries depends on its internal anti-corruption capability. 

Adopting a ‘law in context’ approach, this thesis engages with scholarly contributions pertaining to the political science literature on EU actorness and EU external governance and legal studies on integration without membership that analyse the factors that enable and constrain EU values and norms export in the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP). It connects to the ‘gap discourse’, which analyses and evaluates the EU as a foreign policy actor and delineates the set of problems that limit the effectiveness of the EU’s external policies. In particular, this work addresses the lack of academic contributions focusing on external EU anti-corruption promotion. This thesis calls for a departure from the understanding of the internal and external anti-corruption policy dimensions as two entirely separate fields of study. Thereby, this work provides a framework for analysis for scholars and policy makers that is able to grasp the implications of current and future developments in the EU internal anti-corruption legal framework for the external dimension, which can then be used to develop new solutions for the EU’s neighbourhood. 

The thesis examines three distinct anti-corruption areas, which vary in terms of EU acquis density, comprehensiveness and corruption-focus of the EU’s approach – namely the policy against organised and cross-border crime, public procurement as part of the EU internal market policy and political party funding. The associated EaP country Moldova, which enjoys highly institutionalised relations with the EU and has been one of the top beneficiaries of EU financial assistance for many years, but still struggles with wide-spread corruption, serves as a crucial single case study to critically analyse EU anti-corruption efforts under least favourable conditions. This thesis finds that (i) the EU’s internal anti-corruption capability is high in areas with high acquis density, where the EU has significant legal competences and a high degree of vertical coherence exists, even though tackling corruption is merely a by-product – a means to achieve superordinate objectives, such as preserving the EU internal market or protecting the EU’s financial interests. By contrast, (ii) the EU’s capability is lower in areas with lower acquis density, where the EU has less legal competences and a lower degree of vertical coherence exists, even if in these areas the EU adopts a comprehensive approach against corruption and tackles the phenomenon as a primary order objective. Conducting a qualitative, comparative analysis, the thesis shows that (iii) the EU’s internal capability permeates the external dimension vis-à-vis Moldova with high piercing force via the Association Agreement. Looking at the domestic legislation, the thesis finds that (iv) the EU’s internal capability also influences Moldova’s national legal framework. The anti-corruption standards stemming from the EU acquis translate into concrete benchmarks, whose adoption and implementation the EU is able to monitor and enforce in Moldova with positive implications.}},
  author       = {{Corman, Mihai-Razvan}},
  keywords     = {{EU external relations law,EU anti-corruption policy,Association Agreement,European Neighbourhood Policy,Eastern Partnership,Republic of Moldova}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{XIII, 381}},
  publisher    = {{Ghent University. Faculty of Law and Criminology}},
  school       = {{Ghent University}},
  title        = {{Exploring the EU internal-external anti-corruption policy nexus : the EU’s ambitions-capability gap in the Republic of Moldova}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}