Transparency International: Romania Remains Among Europe’s Most Corrupt Countries

Romania still remains among the EU countries with the worst performance in terms of the implementation of anti-corruption measures, with 46 points out of a possible 100, together with Bulgaria (45 points) and Hungary (42 points), which reflects significant deficiencies in the rule of law, according to the Corruption Perceptions Index 2023, launched by Transparency International globally.

The Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) reflects how independent and business experts perceive corruption in the public sector in 180 states and territories. The ranking is drawn up by awarding points, from 0 to 100, where zero means “very corrupt” and 100 “not corrupt at all”. At the level of the European Union, anti-corruption efforts have stagnated or are in decline in most member states.

The index shows that the best-performing countries were Denmark (90), Finland (87) and Norway (84), while the lowest-ranked ones were Hungary (42), Romania (46) and Bulgaria (45).

Out of 31 countries in this region, only six countries have significantly improved their score since 2012: the Czech Republic (57), Estonia (76), Greece (49), Latvia (60), Italy (56) and Ireland (77).

When compared to their scores in the 2015 CPI, Austria (71), Luxembourg (78), Sweden (82) and the United Kingdom (71) have declined significantly.

Poland (54) has also seen a seven-point decline over the past decade due to “efforts by the previous ruling Law and Order (PiS) party to monopolise power at the expense of public interest”, said the report. It also highlighted that Greece (49) scored very low on the 2023 list due to its weak judicial independence.

“The EU average remains constant over the last five years, at 64 points. With 46 points out of a possible 100, Romania remains among the EU countries with the worst performances, together with Bulgaria (45 points) and Hungary (42 points), which reflects significant deficiencies in the rule of law. According to Transparency International’s methodology, scores below 50 points are unacceptably low, especially when compared to the regional average. Furthermore, changes of 1-2 points from a year to another, it usually reflects the margin of error, especially if they are not constant”, a press release by Transparency International Romania states.

According to the press release, compared to 2014, our country has an increase of three points, but the evolution was not linear.

“Between the years 2014 and 2016 it recorded an advance of five points, from 43 in 2014 to 46 in 2015 and 48 points in 2016. In the following years, Romania lost four points, reaching only 44 in 2019, and since then recovered only two points. In 2022 and 2023 the score is the same at only 46 points, well below the EU average. Bulgaria had a similar trajectory, with scores varying between 41 and 44 points over the past 10 years. noted that 2023 is the first time that Bulgaria reaches 45 points. In contrast, Hungary has seen a steady decline in the ranking, from 54 points in 2014 to just 42 points in 2023, placing it last at the EU level,” the document states.