Help me help you: how the EU made Romania’s anticorruption reforms a (temporary) success

Abstract

ABSTRACT Under what circumstances can the European Union (EU) be a positive force for anticorruption reforms, even after accession? I demonstrate that the interaction of sustained pressure from the EU and domestic agency can provide the conditions under which anticorruption reforms can succeed even following a state’s formal entry into the Union. I demonstrate this argument through a diachronic analysis of Romania’s anticorruption reforms focusing on its anticorruption agency, the Direcţia Naţională Anticorupţie (DNA) pre-accession (2002–2006) and post-accession (2007–2016).