Official: Hungary is the most corrupt country in the EU
Hungary has been named the most corrupt EU Member State for the first time. At the same time, Transparency International reports that the EU has encouraged the Hungarian government to take the most serious anti-corruption measures in twelve years.
For the 28th time this year, Transparency International has produced the world’s most comprehensive corruption survey. According to the so-called Corruption Perceptions Index, last year, Hungary slipped to last place among EU Member States, overtaking of Bulgaria, 24.hu reports.
Hungary is the most corrupt country in the EU
Hungary scored 42 points on a scale from 0 (most corrupt country) to 100 (least corrupt country) in the survey, dropping one point and four places in one year from the 2021 score. This year, Hungary took the 77th place out of 180 countries. This rank is considered mid-table globally but the worst in the EU.
The last place is held by Hungary for the first time this year. This, according to Transparency, is the culmination of a “process of systemic corruption that has been taking place for the past decade”. In 2012, Hungary was ranked 19th in the then 27-member European Union, but since then its performance has been on a downward trend, with a total loss of 13 points.
The top three countries in the world rankings are Denmark (90), Finland (87) and New Zealand (87). South Sudan, Syria and Somalia share the last three places, with 13-13 and 12 points respectively.
Hungary’s place on the list
- HERE you can watch a short video on how Hungary’s position on the corruption list has changed among the EU members in the past 10 years.
- HERE you can watch a short video on how Hungary’s posititon changed among the V4 countries in the past 10 years.
- And HERE you can watch a short video on how Hungary’s position changed among the region’s nations in the past 10 years.
The EU took serious steps to fight corruption in Hungary
According to the survey, the most significant event in the fight against corruption last year was the launch of the rule of law procedure. The method imposed conditions on the disbursement of EU funds. This is the first time in the EU’s history, 24.hu writes, that the European Commission has done so, which the authors say is a change of approach compared to the last ten years.
The survey underlines: the impact of government measures to free up EU funds has not yet been reflected in this year’s Corruption Perceptions Index results. They add that the anti-corruption package forced by the EU is the most serious anti-corruption package in a decade and a half. Meanwhile, the government’s aim is not to restore the rule of law but to draw down EU funds.
“If the Commission rigorously monitors the implementation of the new rules, we can expect a reduction in the misuse of EU funds in the future, but not the undoing of the institutional destruction of the past decade and the restoration of the rule of law,” the report concludes.
Source: 24.hu, transparency.org