By The Smartencyclopedia Staff & Agencies
In its latest Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), Transparency International has sounded the alarm on the deteriorating state of corruption in Western Europe and the European Union. This marks the first time in over a decade that corruption levels have shown a negative trend, according to experts’ perceptions.
The CPI evaluates 180 countries and territories based on their perceived levels of public sector corruption, ranking them on a scale from zero (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean). While Denmark claimed the top spot as the least corrupt country, followed closely by Finland and New Zealand, several high-ranking democracies in Europe recorded their lowest-ever scores since the index’s inception in 2012.
Flora Cresswell, Transparency International’s Western Europe regional coordinator, emphasized the urgent need for European governments to prioritize the fight against corruption and uphold the rule of law. She warned that rollbacks on checks and balances leave the door open to corruption, stressing the importance of enforcing rules and shielding the justice system from interference.
According to the report, anti-corruption efforts have either stagnated or declined in over three-quarters of the countries in the region. Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria were among the lowest-ranked countries, while Denmark, Finland, and Norway led the pack.
Only six out of 31 countries in the region have significantly improved their scores since 2012, including the Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Latvia, Italy, and Ireland. However, countries like Poland and Greece have experienced declines, attributed to efforts to monopolize power and weak judicial independence, respectively.
The report also sheds light on challenges faced by even top-scoring countries in curbing corruption, particularly in prosecuting companies involved in bribery cases. It highlights instances where authorities have faced criticism for failing to prosecute companies engaged in corrupt practices.
Transparency International points to the proposed EU anti-corruption directive as a potential solution, which would require member states to criminalize demand-side foreign bribery. However, the report notes that some EU countries struggle to effectively address foreign bribery, despite criminalizing both the supply and demand sides.
Moreover, the report identifies money laundering as a significant issue in countries like Denmark, Germany, and Sweden, where failures to supervise banks have facilitated corruption. Efforts to address money laundering include the proposal of legislation to extend anti-money laundering obligations to professionals like lawyers.
In countries such as Ireland and France, access to beneficial ownership registers is hindered by complex systems, limiting transparency and accountability. The report underscores the need for improved access to information about companies’ real owners across the EU to combat corruption effectively.
As corruption continues to pose a threat to governance and accountability in Europe, Transparency International’s report calls for concerted efforts to strengthen anti-corruption measures and promote transparency across the region.