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Not hearing much from Brexiters these days. I assume the imminent arrival of the real Brexit disaster has rather taken the puff out of their sails.
Every now and then though you get someone proclaiming how joyous it is for us free, honest Brits to be free of EU corruption.
/1 https://twitter.com/Charlot82629741/status/1310181928591659011
Every now and then though you get someone proclaiming how joyous it is for us free, honest Brits to be free of EU corruption.
/1 https://twitter.com/Charlot82629741/status/1310181928591659011
It's a mistake to think of corruption as some kind of foreign infection. RW propagandists like to do this because it puts corruption into the familiar framework of the demonised foreigner.
Consumers of RW media are typically very well conditioned to respond to this rhetoric.
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Consumers of RW media are typically very well conditioned to respond to this rhetoric.
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In fact corruption is a complex set of behaviours which have to be addressed in every society and at every level of society.
Is it corrupt to claim a tax break you don't deserve for millions of Euros - of course it is.
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Is it corrupt to claim a tax break you don't deserve for millions of Euros - of course it is.
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Is it corrupt to pay a tradesman cash in hand because he's a friend of friend? Well actually it is, although a lot of people would do it.
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Eliminating corruption involves creating laws and frameworks and institutions that promote promote honest behaviour and punish corrupt behaviour.
But it also involves getting people to buy into those values on a personal level.
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But it also involves getting people to buy into those values on a personal level.
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Most corruption relating to EU funds happens at the national level, the EU is after all an alliance of sovereign states and most EU funds are administered through largely national bodies.
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Europe on the whole is one of the least corrupt regions of the world. As you might expect the Nordic countries tend to have very good records on corruption.
Former Warsaw Pact countries (in general) tend to be much worse.
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Former Warsaw Pact countries (in general) tend to be much worse.
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Some countries that people often think are hotbeds of corruption, Italy and Greece for instance, have made massive strides in recent years.
https://www.transparency.org/en/news/cpi-western-europe-and-eu#
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https://www.transparency.org/en/news/cpi-western-europe-and-eu#
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The Commision and other EU bodies work strenuously to combat corruption and their efforts are largely working.
https://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/what-we-do/policies/organized-crime-and-human-trafficking/corruption_en
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https://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/what-we-do/policies/organized-crime-and-human-trafficking/corruption_en
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Compare and contrast this with the dismal performance of Johnson's government in the UK which now has a string of failed COVID contracts that were dished out to friends of Johnson and Cummings without any normal oversight or competitive tendering.
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Or remember the famous ferry contract given to company with no ships and no understanding of maritime operations.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/may/01/chris-grayling-cancels-ferry-contracts-at-extra-50m-cost-to-taxpayers-brexit
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https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/may/01/chris-grayling-cancels-ferry-contracts-at-extra-50m-cost-to-taxpayers-brexit
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In fact the whole project of Brexit and the Brexit government is deeply, deeply mired in corruption.
Johnson himself, do not forget, made his living for many years making up lies about the EU as a 'journalist' on the Spectator and Telegraph.
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Johnson himself, do not forget, made his living for many years making up lies about the EU as a 'journalist' on the Spectator and Telegraph.
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How Dark Money was funneled into the Brexit campaigns is now fairly well understood and has been well documented by Carole Cadwalladr and others.
It is highly likely that much of this came from Russia and was channeled into UKIP and Leave EU by Arron Banks and co.
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It is highly likely that much of this came from Russia and was channeled into UKIP and Leave EU by Arron Banks and co.
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We know that Banks and Farage celebrated the night of 2016 referendum with the Russian Ambassador.
We know that Banks was offered a sweetheart deal in Russian diamond mining actually at the Russian Embassy in London.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/aug/09/revealed-detail-of-exclusive-russian-deal-offered-to-arron-banks-in-brexit-run-up
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We know that Banks was offered a sweetheart deal in Russian diamond mining actually at the Russian Embassy in London.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/aug/09/revealed-detail-of-exclusive-russian-deal-offered-to-arron-banks-in-brexit-run-up
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We know that the Intelligence Services Committee urged the government to launch an intelligence led investigation into Russian interference in the Brexit campaign.
And we know that Johnson and others in government 'actively resisted' doing so.
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And we know that Johnson and others in government 'actively resisted' doing so.
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