Introduction -- Corruption : concept, importance and international response -- The scope of EU legal powers and development of the policy in the area of anti-corruption -- The EU strategy against corruption within the Member States -- Conditionality in the EU accession process -- The EU's evaluation of corruption in the Central and Eastern European candidate countries -- The EU anti-corruption strategy towards the Central and Eastern European candidate countries : achievement or missed opportunity? -- The impact of 2004 enlargement on the EU anti-corruption policy -- Conclusion.