EU adopts anti-corruption directive with 2028 transposition deadline
EU Member States must rewrite corruption offences, penalties and enforcement architecture
Change
The EU adopted Directive (EU) 2026/1021 requiring Member States to transpose harmonised corruption offences, penalty floors, legal-person liability and anti-corruption enforcement obligations by 1 June 2028, with sector-risk assessment and national strategy duties due by 1 June 2029.
Why it matters
The Directive replaces older EU corruption instruments with a wider criminal-law framework covering public and private bribery, misappropriation, trading in influence, unlawful exercise of public functions, obstruction of justice, enrichment and concealment. Member States must align national offence definitions, sanctions, limitation periods, legal-person liability, investigative tools, reporting protections and anti-corruption institutions. Legal-person fines must reach at least 5% of worldwide turnover or EUR 40 million for specified offences and 3% or EUR 24 million for others.
Implications
- — Member State justice ministries and legislatures must transpose the Directive into national criminal law by 1 June 2028 — offence definitions, penalties, legal-person liability and limitation periods must meet the EU minimum framework.
- — Member State anti-corruption bodies and enforcement agencies must have preventive and repressive functions, adequate resources, investigative tools and SIENA-based information exchange — the Directive requires institutional capacity as well as criminalisation.
- — Public-administration and integrity authorities must complete sector-risk assessment and national anti-corruption strategy duties by 1 June 2029 — prevention, conflict-of-interest, transparency and high-risk-sector controls become transposition duties.
Who is affected
- — EU Member State justice ministries and legislatures
- — Member State anti-corruption and law-enforcement bodies
- — Public-sector integrity and transparency authorities
- — Legal persons exposed to corruption-offence liability
What to watch
- — 31 May 2026: Directive enters into force.
- — 1 June 2028: Member States must transpose most obligations into national law.
- — 1 June 2029: Member States must transpose sector-risk assessment and national anti-corruption strategy obligations.
- — 1 June 2030: Commission must report on Member State compliance measures.