Greece ‘Worst Performing EU Country’ on Corruption, Media Freedom

Corruption in Greece and Western Europe is getting worse, according to the latest report published by Transparency International.

The report notes with a three-point decline, Greece which is at number 49 is the worst-performing country in the EU.

The organization’s latest World Press Freedom Index (CPI) looked at 180 countries and territories by their perceived levels of public sector corruption on a scale of zero (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean).

According to the report, experts and business people find that the world’s least corrupt country is Denmark, followed closely by Finland and New Zealand in second and third place, respectively.

Despite placing well in the overall list, several high-ranking democracies, such as Sweden (82), the Netherlands (79), Iceland (72) and the United Kingdom (71), recorded their lowest-ever scores in the annual CPI since it was first released in 2012.

The worst countries in the CPI in Europe are Hungary, Bulgaria, and Romania.

“The fall of the regional CPI score in Western Europe and the EU demonstrates that European governments need to take the fight against corruption and upholding the rule of law more seriously,” said Flora Cresswell, Transparency International’s Western Europe regional coordinator.

“Rollbacks on checks and balances leave the door open to corruption,” she said. “Countries must raise their standards and better enforce their own rules to step up efforts against corruption, shielding the justice system from interference and putting a backstop to powerful interest groups in politics.”

Greece and corruption

“Greece is facing a rule of law crisis that is damaging the country’s gains in the CPI over the past decade,” the report says.

The fallout from the government’s alleged illegal wiretapping of journalists and opposition politicians, attacks on press freedom, and weak judicial independence have contributed to the sharpest decline in the rule of law in the EU.

Concerns mount regarding government overreach in the spyware scandal, with reports of members of the independent watchdog investigating the case being threatened and witnesses being blocked.

The use of SLAPPs to silence journalists is commonplace, hindering the media’s ability to report on corruption cases. This is confounded by a concentration of private media ownership with close ties to the political elite, the report says.

Greece made a promising move by establishing the National Transparency Authority in 2019, but governing appointments are selected by the government. The position of governor has been vacant for more than one and a half years, whilst members of the Governing Council recently resigned amidst scandal allegations.

“To halt the decline, the government needs to guarantee the protection and safety of journalists, strengthen legislative regulations on lobbying and political party finance, and maintain an independent anti-corruption authority,” Transparency International says.

Related: Media Freedom in Greece Deteriorates, International Report Warns