Flash Eurobarometer 582, “Businesses’ attitudes towards corruption and businesses’ perception of the independence of national justice systems in the EU and selected enlargement countries in 2026”, covers the 27 EU Member States, as well as four EU candidate countries: Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia. The survey was conducted among small and medium-sized enterprises.

According to the survey, 37% of businesses in the EU consider corruption to be a serious problem when doing business: 20% describe it as a very serious problem and a further 17% as a quite serious problem. In the candidate countries, this figure is higher, at 61%: 35% of businesses consider corruption to be a very serious problem and 26% a quite serious problem.

Businesses also perceive corruption as a widespread issue. In the EU, 65% of businesses believe that corruption is widespread in their country, including 28% who say it is very widespread and 37% who say it is fairly widespread. Among businesses in the candidate countries, 82% of respondents share this view: 48% consider corruption to be very widespread and 34% fairly widespread.

As the most widespread corruptive practices, businesses in the EU most often mention favouring friends or family members in business and in public institutions, funding political parties in exchange for public contracts or influence over policymaking, tax fraud or non-payment of VAT, bribes and kickbacks. In the candidate countries, the practices mentioned most often are bribes, favouring friends or family members in public institutions, funding political parties in exchange for public contracts or influence over policymaking, tax fraud or non-payment of VAT, as well as favouring friends or family members in business. At the same time, 38% of businesses in the EU consider patronage and nepotism to be a problem when doing business, compared with 51% in the candidate countries.

A separate section of the survey focuses on public procurement. In the EU, 53% of businesses consider the abuse of negotiated procedures and conflicts of interest in the evaluation of bids to be widespread, 59% point to tailor-made specifications for particular companies, 49% to collusive bidding, and 38% to amendments of contract terms after the conclusion of the contract. In the candidate countries, the corresponding figures are generally higher: 70% of businesses consider the abuse of negotiated procedures to be widespread, 64% point to conflicts of interest in the evaluation of bids, 57% to tailor-made specifications for particular companies, 58% to collusive bidding, and 50% to amendments of contract terms after the conclusion of the contract.

The survey also addresses whistleblowing and the reporting of corruption. In the EU, 66% of businesses agree that workers reporting instances of corruption to the competent authorities contribute to effectively addressing corruption. The same share of businesses believe that workers reporting instances of corruption are effectively protected against retaliation. At the same time, 51% of businesses believe that confidential reporting channels, which can receive internal reports from workers on corruption, are effective in allowing companies to detect and address instances of corruption. In the candidate countries, assessments are lower in some areas: only 35% of businesses believe that workers reporting instances of corruption are effectively protected against retaliation. At the same time, 58% of respondents agree that confidential reporting channels help companies detect and address instances of corruption, while 54% agree that workers reporting instances of corruption to the competent authorities contribute to effectively addressing corruption.

The Eurobarometer materials also cover businesses’ perception of the independence of courts and judges and the digitalisation of courts and justice systems. In the EU, 58% of businesses rate the independence of courts and judges as good, while 36% rate it as bad. In the candidate countries, 49% of businesses rate the independence of courts and judges positively, while 46% rate it negatively. At the same time, perceptions of the digitalisation of courts and justice systems are similar in the EU and the candidate countries: 73% and 71% of businesses, respectively, believe that courts and justice systems in their country are fully or partially digitalised.