New EU states get a mixed report card on corruption
AP
Vienna :
Bribes in exchange for business. Conspiratorial whispers and cash-stuffed envelopes. Public powers routinely used for private gain.
Corruption remains widespread across the "New Europe" and the latest global rankings give a mixed report card to the European Union's ex-communist newcomers and neighbouring nations still aspiring to join.
"Chances for improvement are not encouraging," conceded Adriana Krnacova, who runs the Czech office of Transparency International, which this week released its 2005 corruption perception index an annual ranking that is closely watched in eastern Europe.
But fellow EU newcomer Poland "has performed relatively poorly and shows little or no sign of improvement," TI said, singling out rampant bureaucracy and frequent conflicts of interest.
Czech Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek vowed to redouble efforts to fight corruption ahead of general elections next year. Ordinary Czechs, however, reacted with a mixture of fatalism and antagonism to their 4.3 ranking, a mere tick better than last year's 4.2.
"Frankly, we don't need Transparency International to see how corrupt our country is. (This in reference to Poland use of this bureau) And how are our politicians fighting it? Mostly by mouth. ... What about buying ourselves at least the 20th position next year?" the daily Mlada Fronta Dnes said yesterday in a wry commentary.
"Corruption exists in every country," Bulgarian Interior Minister Rumen Petkov said yesterday, insisting his office was "making every effort to curb such practices".
Many of the EU's newest members have shown improvements in fighting corruption since they joined the bloc in May 2004, which "points to the leverage of the accession process in promoting anti-corruption reforms in candidate countries", TI said.
Among them was Slovakia, which managed its best score yet: 4.3 points on a 10-point scale, with a 10 reserved for the least-corrupt countries. Last year, Slovakia scored a 4.0.
Slovak Justice Minister Daniel Lipsic hailed the results as "the greatest progress" the country has seen in the last few years. "It seems that specific anti-corruption steps we've made are starting to bear fruit," Lipsic said. But he cautioned: "We're not at the end of the road yet." Link
AP
Vienna :
Bribes in exchange for business. Conspiratorial whispers and cash-stuffed envelopes. Public powers routinely used for private gain.
Corruption remains widespread across the "New Europe" and the latest global rankings give a mixed report card to the European Union's ex-communist newcomers and neighbouring nations still aspiring to join.
"Chances for improvement are not encouraging," conceded Adriana Krnacova, who runs the Czech office of Transparency International, which this week released its 2005 corruption perception index an annual ranking that is closely watched in eastern Europe.
But fellow EU newcomer Poland "has performed relatively poorly and shows little or no sign of improvement," TI said, singling out rampant bureaucracy and frequent conflicts of interest.
Czech Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek vowed to redouble efforts to fight corruption ahead of general elections next year. Ordinary Czechs, however, reacted with a mixture of fatalism and antagonism to their 4.3 ranking, a mere tick better than last year's 4.2.
"Frankly, we don't need Transparency International to see how corrupt our country is. (This in reference to Poland use of this bureau) And how are our politicians fighting it? Mostly by mouth. ... What about buying ourselves at least the 20th position next year?" the daily Mlada Fronta Dnes said yesterday in a wry commentary.
"Corruption exists in every country," Bulgarian Interior Minister Rumen Petkov said yesterday, insisting his office was "making every effort to curb such practices".
Many of the EU's newest members have shown improvements in fighting corruption since they joined the bloc in May 2004, which "points to the leverage of the accession process in promoting anti-corruption reforms in candidate countries", TI said.
Among them was Slovakia, which managed its best score yet: 4.3 points on a 10-point scale, with a 10 reserved for the least-corrupt countries. Last year, Slovakia scored a 4.0.
Slovak Justice Minister Daniel Lipsic hailed the results as "the greatest progress" the country has seen in the last few years. "It seems that specific anti-corruption steps we've made are starting to bear fruit," Lipsic said. But he cautioned: "We're not at the end of the road yet." Link
posted by BEING HAD at 5:20 AM
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