Society as a victim of corruption: Political corruption in Serbia as an obstacle on the road to membership in the European Union

This paper considers the problem of corruption in Serbia, as a dangerous phenomenon that is usually classified as a victimless crime, although the damage it causes is enormous and its consequences affect an indefinite and large number of victims. Corruption leads to the expansion of economic inequalities, it slows down and hinders economic growth and development, destroys the legitimacy of institutions, endangers the protection of basic human rights and freedoms and undermines the fundamental values on which the society is based. Particular attention is devoted to the issue od political corruption because it is the most dangerous form of corruption and this problem has been marked by the European Commission as the biggest obstacle on the way of our country towards European integrations. It has been pointed out that the most dangerous crimes of corruption are under-detected and rarely prosecuted, which is influenced by the very fact that corruption is an essential link between the world of politics and economics and that the perpetrators of these acts are persons that are holding prominent positions in the government or an exceptional power in society, and on the other hand, the victims of these acts are all citizens of Serbia.