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The European Commission has just published its 2026 Rule of Law Report, and the findings on anti-corruption paint a stark picture. Here’s a quick analysis. Our analysis of recommendations issued across seven EU member states (2022 -2026) reveals persistent gaps between commitments and action ⬇️

1) Enforcement is backsliding. Bulgaria, Hungary and Slovakia have repeatedly received recommendations on the track record of high-level corruption cases with no progress. For the first time, the Commission used notably stronger language to describe the deterioration observed in Slovakia.

2) Lobbying reform is stalled. Recommendations for stronger lobbying frameworks for countries including Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands and Slovakia, saw very little progress beyond legislative proposals.

4) Political finance needs to be prioritised. Despite opaque money and undue influence remaining major threats to European democracy, only Italy received a recommendation in this area, with no meaningful progress since 2022.