Transparency International has now published its Corruption Perception Index 2017. The Scandinavian countries are in the lead. The best EU countries, Denmark (88) and Finland (85) rank right behind the best, New Zealand (89). On the other hand, Hungary (45) drops by 10 points (on a scale from 0 “highly corrupt” to 100 “very clean”), still behind candidate country Montenegro (46). Only Bulgaria (43) is lagging even further behind. Italy (50) and Malta (56) have similarly poor values. Greece is also weak (48) but has improved significantly.
Sven Giegold, financial and economic policy spokesperson of the Greens/EFA Group in the European Parliament and rapporteur for transparency, accountability and integrity in the EU institutions, commented:
“It is a poor show for EU politics that corruption has increased in some EU Member States. Stagnation reigns in the fight against corruption throughout Europe. The EU Commission must finally deliver on its promises in the fight against corruption. It is big mistake that the EU Commission has not published the second EU anti-corruption report. In the fight against corruption, Europe certainly does not cover itself in glory. Since EU funds are also affected by corruption, the EU Commission’s refusal to act damages Europe’s reputation.
Bulgaria is the poorest performer of all EU countries. The Bulgarian government and the EU must take the protests of citizens against corruption in the country seriously. There is also an acute need for action in Hungary: nepotism and a culture of impunity are rife under Orban. Europe must no longer remain inactive in the face of corruption within its own community”.
Background
To the Corruption Perception Index 2017: https://www.transparency.org/news/feature/corruption_perceptions_index_2017
Greens/EFA study on corruption in Bulgaria from 24.01.2018: https://www.greens-efa.eu/files/doc/docs/852acfcd65130687487ad862d93eebf5.pdf
