Washington, June 18: Europe and America are in sharp disagreement over the scope of the proposed global treaty against corruption, with Europe wanting the pact to cover businesses and governments while the US wants it restricted to governments.
Should the negotiations collapse, it will be another
signal that the U.S. and Europe will have trouble working
together even on issues of mutual interest, not merely on
issues like Iraq, the Wall Street Journal reports.
The U.S. position, said the paper, represents a striking
turnaround from several years ago, when the Clinton
administration pressed a reluctant Europe to crack down on
bribes. The U.S. has long campaigned against foreign
corruption, starting with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of
1977, which barred bribes to foreign officials.
However, now negotiations for the George W Bush
administration object to the broad, sweeping nature of the
pact proposed by the Europeans. It goes well beyond illicit
payments to bureaucrats.
Among the provisions being debated are prohibitions on
bribery, favouritism false documents and other corrupt
practices among businesses as well as government agencies, and
requirements that political parties disclose their sources of
financing. Nations would grade each other on their compliance
with the provisions of the accord.
The US wants the convention to be limited to subjects
such as government corruption and recovery of stolen assets.
European Union nations accuse the Bush administration of
trying to dilute the pact.
Bureau Report
