Greece is the second most corrupt country in Europe

In just one year, Greece has dropped 8 places in the Global Corruption Perceptions Index, while is the second most corrupt country in Europe after Bulgaria, according to the Transparency International report. 

The index ranks 180 countries and regions, based on levels of corruption in the public sector, according to experts and entrepreneurs in each country, using a rating scale from 0 to 100. With zero corresponding to conditions of complete corruption and 100 to complete transparency, two-thirds of countries score «below the bottom» of 50, with the global average being 43.

Greece is getting lower and lower

Greece «slipped» from 59th place in 2017 to 67th in 2018, below Cuba, Malaysia, Romania, Romania, Hungary, São Tomé and Príncipe and Vanuatu. From the 48 «transparency» scores it garnered in 2017, the country dropped to 45, with analysts placing Greece on the list of countries that should be more closely monitored.

«Despite any improvements at the structural level», the analysts underline that progress in tackling corruption has stalled in Greece and heavy bureaucracy is creating problems in the country.    

The appointment of Vassiliki Thanos to the chairmanship of the Competition Commission has not been left unchanged. According to analysts, the appointment of a «close adviser to the Prime Minister» raises concerns about conflicts of interest in Greece and ultimately puts the independence of the institution at risk.

«In 2018, a series of scandals undermined anti-corruption efforts,» analysts stress, making explicit reference to the case of Novartis. As they say, one of the cases that set back the fight against corruption was that of improper supply of medicines by the Greek state, «with former ministers and prime ministers accused of violations».  

Despite the drop in the ranking, however, the authors of the analysis stress that the country's image remains better than in 2012 and estimate that this is due to the structural reforms that the country promoted after the outbreak of the financial crisis in 2008, in an attempt to counterbalance the «harsh austerity measures». 

The world ranking

Denmark and New Zealand top the list as the least corrupt countries with 88 points, with 87, followed by Finland, Singapore, Sweden and Switzerland with 85/100 on the slide. At the opposite end of the spectrum, the state with the most corrupt public sector is Somalia, followed by Syria, South Sudan, Yemen and North Korea.

The survey reveals the the continuing failure of most states to significantly control the corruption that is fuelling the crisis of democratic institutions worldwide. As they note: «Although there are exceptions, the data show that despite progress, most countries fail to make serious progress against corruption.».