National and international anti-corruption efforts: the case of Poland

This article's objective is to analyse the influence of international anti-corruption pressure on national measures aimed at combating corruption in Poland. First, the change in perception of corruption in Poland will be addressed, along with a short discussion on attempts to reduce its scope. Second, the anti-corruption measures of international organisations, such as the United Nations, the organisation for economic co-operation and development (OECD), the Council of Europe, Group of States against Corruption and the European Union, as well as international Conventions adopted and ratified by Poland will be examined. Third, the role of state and non-governmental institutions involved in the fight against corruption in Poland will be reviewed. Finally, the process of implementing governmental anti-corruption strategies will be analysed, with a particular focus on the introduction of legislative changes that are aimed at limiting corruption through the processes of legal modernisation and harmonisation. This article argues that from among the many initiatives undertaken by various international institutions combating corruption in Poland, the most effective was found to be pressure exerted by the European Union. Poland's eagerness to enter the European Union, and to make use of structural funds after accession, forced the country's elected governments to implement certain recommendations of the European Commission regarding anti-corruption policy. However, these activities had, to a certain degree, a facade-like character and were addressed to fulfil the formal requirements of the European Commission instead of serving as a genuine effort to curb corruption. Even though corruption has been officially considered a serious social problem, which needs to be combated and many anti-corruption measures have been implemented, the effects of the actions undertaken by consecutive Polish governments are not fully satisfactory. Also, anti-corruption slogans have been instrumentally used to fight against political opponents. From another perspective, the activities of Polish non-governmental organisations have contributed to a visible reduction in social tolerance for corruption. Although public opinion research shows that the level of corruption is slowly decreasing in Poland and the country's position in the Corruption Perception Index is systematically improving, it is uncertain how strongly rooted this positive tendency will find itself in the long term.