[JURIST] EU Commissioner for Justice, Freedom and Security Franco Frattini [official profile] Monday said that many EU member states have failed to implement EU legislation to combat corruption [press release] by making bribery through an intermediary a criminal offense and updating existing anti-corruption legislation to include non-profit organizations. The EU approved the framework decision on combating corruption in the private sector [backgrounder] in 2003, and in a report to be forwarded to the Council of the European Union, Frattini said that only Belgium and the United Kingdom have legislation in full compliance with the 2003 decision. EU members were given a July 22, 2005 deadline to implement legislation complying with the EU decision.

In March, Belgian police arrested three Italian nationals [JURIST report] – a European Commission official in charge of delegation infrastructure, a personal assistant to an Italian member of the European Parliament, and a businessman – on corruption charges stemming from European public tenders to lease space and provide security for delegation buildings in Albania and India. The EU officials were accused of accepting up to $10 million in bribes over the last decade. EUobserver has more.