ANTI-CORRUPTION POLICY IN THE SYSTEM OF EU INTERNAL MARKET LAW: CONCEPTUAL BASIS

Abstract

The article provides a comprehensive doctrinal and practical analysis of the conceptual foundations for integrating anti-corruption policy into the architecture of the European Union internal market law. The relevance of the study stems from the premise that the fragmentation of national anti-corruption legislation creates fertile ground for regulatory arbitrage and systematically distorts the competitive environment for cross-border business. The primary objective of this research is to define the role of anti-corruption standards not merely as democratic values, but as a strict, instrumental prerequisite for the successful functioning of the single European space. The research demonstrates that the absence of unified legal definitions regarding private sector corruption generates regulatory gaps that result in substantial financial losses for the European economy, estimated between 179 and 990 billion euros annually. Furthermore, the paper thoroughly examines the complex jurisdictional nature of EU anti-corruption norms through the lens of Union competence, the PIF-directive, and the resolution of legal basis collisions defined by Articles 83 and 325 of the TFEU. The practical implementation of these conceptual approaches is analyzed using the precedent of the new comprehensive EU Directive on combating corruption, adopted in 2026. The article details the Directive’s core innovations: the unification of offense definitions, the introduction of severe corporate sanctions including fines of up to 5% of a company’s global turnover, and the liability standard for the failure to prevent a crime. The study concludes that the regulatory vector shifts towards preventative compliance. For Ukraine, as a candidate state, these transformations dictate the mandatory direction for further legislative adaptation to access the EU internal market.