Hungary was the worst performing EU country in the NGO’s annual Corruption Perceptions Index, while Denmark scored the best.
Corruption across EU countries has gotten worse for a second consecutive year, according to an annual index released on Tuesday, which ranked Hungary as the bloc’s worst performer and found major economies such as France and Germany backsliding.
Transparency International (TI), which compiles the Corruption Perceptions Index, said that of the 180 nations overall it surveyed, about a quarter have notched their lowest score since the NGO started using its current methodology for its global ranking in 2012.
TI’s index measures the perception of public sector corruption according to 13 data sources, from the World Bank to private risk and consulting firms, scoring countries and territories on a scale from a “highly corrupt” 0 to a “very clean” 100.
The regional average for Western Europe and the EU was 64 this year, down from 65 last year. Prior to 2023, that score had not dropped for about a decade, according to TI.
Europe’s ability to combat corruption is falling short, hindering the bloc’s response to challenges that range from the climate crisis to fraying rule of law and overstrained public services, this year’s report said.
For some time, legal loopholes, poor enforcement and resource scarcity have held EU countries back from tackling corruption effectively, TI’s Europe analysts said.
“But now, some governments are going further, undermining or politicising anti-corruption frameworks and allowing erosion of the rule of law,” they wrote on Tuesday.
Spotlight on Hungary and Slovakia
At the bottom of the Western Europe and EU regional ranking is Hungary, with a score of 41 — down one point on last year. Summarising its assessment, TI highlighted “systemic corruption and a continuous decline of the rule of law” during Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s 15-year rule.
The report referenced recent US sanctions placed on Hungarian government official Antal Rogán — who is chief of the prime minister’s cabinet and a close aide of Orbán — for alleged corruption relating to the distribution of public contracts to supposed allies.
Orbán and his ruling Fidesz party have repeatedly denied allegations of corruption.
Bulgaria, Romania and Malta were the other bottom scorers in the region, while Slovakia was flagged as a country to watch after its score dropped by five points to 49 in the first full year of Prime Minister Robert Fico’s government.
“Numerous reforms erode anti-corruption checks and bypass public consultation,” the report said.
There have been large demonstrations in Slovakia’s capital of Bratislava in recent weeks, with protesters accusing Fico of undermining democratic values and moving closer to Russia. Fico has claimed that his opponents are trying to overthrow the government.
Corruption and climate crisis intertwined
TI also noted that France dropped four points to 67 while Germany was down three points to 75, partly due to corporate lobbyists’ influence on climate policy and action.
“Two of the biggest challenges humanity faces are strongly intertwined: corruption and the climate crisis,” TI said in the foreword to this year’s index.
ADVERTISEMENTA lack of adequate transparency and accountability mechanisms increases the risk that climate funds may be misused or embezzled, while conflicts of interest among politicians and lobbying by polluting industries on decision-makers are a concern, the report said.
“These factors have obstructed adoption of the ambitious policies and measures needed to address climate change, favouring the interests of narrow groups over the common good,” TI said.
“The corruption crisis is a huge obstacle to solving the climate crisis.”
The index’s global average remained unchanged from 2023 at 43, with more than two-thirds of countries scoring under 50.
ADVERTISEMENTThe top scorers globally were Denmark — its seventh year running at the summit — on 90 points, Finland on 88, and Singapore on 84. South Sudan scored just eight points, displacing Somalia by one point to be the world’s worst performer this year.
Additional sources • AP
