TI: Romania Seen As Most Corrupted EU Country, No Progress Since 2008

Romania ranks last among European Union member states in 2009 in the Global Corruption Barometer by Berlin-based watchdog Transparency International (TI), which indicates Romania has made no progress in its fight against corruption since 2008.

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TI said Romania ranks on the same spot with Bulgaria, which climbed to a 3.8 rating in 2009, from a 3.6 rating in 2008, and Greece, which dropped to a 3.8 rating in 2009, from a 4.7 rating in 2008.

Worldwide, Romania places 71st among 180 countries and regions covered in the survey, outranked by Ghana, Kuwait, Namibia, Samoa or Seychelles. In TI's corruption barometer, Romania is followed by Brazil, Columbia, Peru or Suriname, each with a 3.7 rating.

The representatives of Transparency International Romania, who made public the global corruption ranking on Tuesday, criticized Romania's lack of progress, arguing it is the first time Romania has made no progress in the its fight against corruption over the years, ever since 2002.

"Transparency International Romania thinks Romania's lack of progress is due to the lack of strategic coordination in point of legislative and institutional measures, which triggered excessive vulnerability on all integrity criteria and affected Romania's credibility, in general, and its reforms as well," TI Romania executive manager Victor Alistar said told a press conference Tuesday.

TI-Romania also said Romania's legal system has been the most affected over the past year due to the lack of coherent reforming strategies. It also said the use of public resources has also been seriously affected, adding it has a special impact on corruption perception in the business environment.

TI's corruption perception barometer is based on corruption-related data compiled from surveys conducted by independent institutions.

TI ranks countries worldwide by degree to which corruption is perceived to exist among high officials and politicians and presents the standpoints of businesspeople and analysts worldwide, including experts in each country subject to evaluation.

Ratings range from one to ten and the highest rating indicates the least perceived corruption.

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