| The implementation of the 31 chapters of the aquis communitaire has been credited with the overall alignment of the Central and Eastern European (CEE) post-communist candidates' systems of governance with Western European standards. During the accession period CEE countries had huge incentives to comply with EU institutions. However, these incentives decreased once membership was attained and the EU's leverage correspondingly diminished. This study finds convincing evidence that this was not the case with corruption. Although not including corruption either in the acquis or of the Copenhagen criteria, the EU was able to demand reforms that served to curb corruption levels during the both the candidacy period and after membership. The relative loss of leverage after accession was compensated by continued leverage in terms of conditional EU funds, increased linkages and socializations effects, and spillover effects from the removal of the state from the economy and improvements in the legal systems. |
