EU lawmakers target crypto and opaque ownership in corruption fight

The European Parliament has adopted a resolution laying out its wish list for the bloc’s first-ever comprehensive anti-corruption strategy.

The resolution, passed by a show of hands during a plenary session, calls on the European Commission to tackle everything from conflicts of interest and opaque political financing to the misuse of crypto assets and golden visa schemes.

A European Parliament research study estimated that stronger EU action against corruption could save up to 58.5 billion euros per year. A 2025 Eurobarometer survey found that 69% of Europeans believe corruption is widespread in their own country. Europol estimates that nearly 60% of criminal networks engage in corruption in some form.

Prevention measures

MEPs want evidence-based corruption risk mapping and stronger rules around public procurement, grants, and transparency. They are pushing for more harmonized standards on conflicts of interest, gift policies, sponsored travel, asset declarations, and the revolving door phenomenon. The Parliament also wants common rules on political financing, with particular attention to political foundations and intermediaries. EU institutions themselves, the Parliament argues, should be subject to regular anti-corruption reviews by peer institutions.

Enforcement

The resolution calls for tighter cooperation and data sharing among national authorities and EU bodies like Europol, Eurojust, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO), and the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF). MEPs argue that anti-corruption bodies must be independent and properly funded. The EPPO should get more resources, and the five EU member states that have not yet joined the office should do so.

Crypto assets and digital finance

The resolution explicitly flags risks linked to crypto assets, opaque ownership structures, and digital tools that can be used to conceal or move illicit funds. Aave Labs recently submitted a response to the Commission’s MiCA review consultation, arguing that regulation should target intermediaries rather than software and should protect self-custody rights. Hyperliquid, an onchain trading platform, made similar arguments in its own submission. Critics in the crypto community have warned that the EU’s markets watchdog wants expanded powers to freeze crypto assets on mere reasonable suspicion of criminal activity.

Golden visas

MEPs also called for phasing out investor residence schemes, commonly known as golden visas, which allow wealthy individuals to effectively purchase residency or citizenship in an EU country.

Civil society, whistleblowers, and judicial independence

The Parliament wants civil society groups and anti-corruption organizations involved in every phase of the strategy. It calls for stronger protections for whistleblowers and investigative journalists. Independent judicial and anti-corruption authorities should be shielded from political interference. The Parliament also wants the EU itself to join GRECO, the Council of Europe’s Group of States against Corruption, so that EU institutions face the same external scrutiny that national governments do.

Monitoring and budget conditionality

MEPs are pushing for common indicators to measure whether anti-corruption policies are actually working, along with more specific and measurable recommendations in the Commission’s annual rule of law reports. They want stronger rule of law conditionality built into the next EU long-term budget, meaning countries that backslide on anti-corruption norms could see their EU funding cut.

Resolutions of this kind are non-binding. They signal political priorities, not legislative mandates.

Disclosure: This article was edited by John Chen. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.