The EU is clamping down on corruption. Its anti-corruption directive came into force on May 31 and significantly raises the bar, with measures to close enforcement gaps and improve cross-border cooperation.

Compliance teams must ensure that their anti-corruption and anti-bribery programs remain current. But questions remain about how the directive will be enforced and whether it introduces ambiguities, even disincentives.

Ruth Prickett graduated from Cambridge University with a BA hons in History and has specialized in business and finance journalism for the past 20 years. She was editor of Financial Management, the magazine...