Almost at the bottom of the EU 27 member states is Greece on the Corruption Index 2023, with a shameful performance in the Corruption Perceptions Index.
Greece ranked 24th among the 27 EU member states and 59th among 180 states. It scored below the baseline and is in the category of countries with “serious corruption problems.”
For the first time in ten years, the country has fallen so far on the Corruption Perceptions Index.
Based on the Corruption Index for 2023, Greece recorded a score of 49/100, i.e. below the baseline.
Greece records a drop of three points (49 in 2023 from 52 points in 2022) and a significant drop of eight places (59th in 2023 from 51st in 2022). Now, the country is classified as a country facing a crisis of the rule of law, daily efsyn.gr noted citing the Corruption report.
“The fallout from the government’s alleged illegal wiretapping of journalists and opposition politicians, attacks on press freedom and reduced judicial independence have contributed to the sharpest decline in the rule of law in the EU. Concerns are growing over government overreach in the Predatorgate wiretapping scandal, with reports of threats against members of the independent watchdog investigating the case and witness suppression,” the report said.
Greece is the worst performing country in the EU, according to the World Press Freedom Index.
The use of SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) to silence journalists is common, preventing the media from reporting corruption cases.
This is reinforced by the concentration of media ownership in persons with close ties to the political elite. Greece made a promising move by establishing the National Transparency Authority in 2019, but its board members are chosen by the government, which the report criticizes.
The president of Transparency International Greece, Giorgos Hatzigiannakis, said:
“For the first time after 10 years, we observe a drop in our country’s score on the Corruption Perceptions Index, which negatively affects its global ranking as well. Already last year, Transparency International Greece warned about the effects of the reduction of the rule of law, the lack of initiatives to improve press freedom and the weakening of the Independent Authorities. For the country to return to the upward trajectory of the previous years, substantial interventions should be made, among others, for the protection of journalists, the independence of the administrations of the Independent Authorities and the strengthening of the rule of law. International Transparency Greece intends to contribute in every appropriate way to the achievement of the above goals”.
Denmark (90 points) tops the index for the sixth consecutive year, with Finland and New Zealand following with scores of 87 and 85, respectively.
Somalia (11 points), Venezuela (13 points), Syria (13 points), South Sudan (13 points) and Yemen (16 points) occupy the bottom positions of the Index.
The Corruption Perception Index
Since its inception in 1995, the Corruption Perceptions Index has become the leading global indicator of public sector corruption.
The Index scores 180 countries and regions around the world on perceptions of public sector corruption, using data from 13 external sources, including the World Bank, the World Economic Forum, private risk assessment and consulting firms, think tanks and others. Ratings reflect the opinions of experts and business people.
The process for calculating the Corruption Perceptions Index is reviewed regularly to ensure that it is as robust and consistent as possible. It was most recently reviewed by the European Commission’s Joint Research Center in 2017.
All scores from 2012 onward are comparable from one year to the next.
Business Software Market USA (2023).
The problem is the mind set of the government, they do not realize that they are corrupt, so endors corrupt practices by their friends and peers. Like a an organization for criminals run by criminals, to the detriment of the country and the people, but to the advantage of themselves.
…but this government wants to tell us how to live our lives.
Actually the mindset of the general population is in essence the problem, politicians come from that population as do other civil servants, and service providers.
It starts very simply with the normalisation of” the jump the queue ” mentality, or “I know somebody who works in that office who can do that for a favour”,that favour comes in many guises ultimately ending in endemic corruption, furthermore most people who criticise high level corruption live a life riddled with low level corruption.
Maybe time to look at ourselves and how we impact on a very serious problem,before we become the joke of the EU business world , OH to late.