Brussels, 28/10/2010 (Agence Europe) - The European Union has still a way to go to eliminate corruption, according to the 2010 Transparency International (TI) report published on Tuesday 26 October.
Although northern European countries are setting an example, nine member states do not have a pass mark: - Italy (67th) and Greece, which is as badly ranked as China and Colombia (78th). France loses a place from last year to rank 25th with a corruption index of 6.8 while Qatar comes in 19th position. France was 19th in 2007.
Out of a total of 178 countries, the EU nonetheless represents the region of the world where the most honest countries of the world are to be found, such as Denmark (first position), Finland and Sweden (4th equal) and the Netherlands (7th). Out of the 20 countries in the lead, nine belong to the EU, as was the case last year (see EUROPE 10021).
Classification of the European countries is as follows: Denmark (1), Finland and Sweden (4), Netherlands (7), Luxembourg (11), Ireland (14), Austria and Germany (15), United Kingdom (20), Belgium (22), France (25), Estonia (26), Slovenia (27), Cyprus (28), Spain (30), Portugal (32), Malta (37), Poland (41), Lithuania (46), Hungary (50), Latvia and Slovakia (59), Italy (67, index of 3.9 losing 4 places), Romania (69), Bulgaria (73), and Greece (78, index of 3.5 and losing 7 places).
The Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) for 2010 shows persistent corruption in three quarters of the 178 countries taking part in the study. The 178-country classification according to the CPI marked from 10 to 0 (10 for most honest) shows that only 48 countries (27%) have a mark above the average and only 23 of those may be considered as having a high, or quite high, level of integrity with a mark above 7. According to the NGO, the situation has improved in Bhutan, Chile, Ecuador, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), Gambia, Haiti, Kuwait and Qatar. It has worsened in the USA, which leaves the top 20 and falls to 22nd position, and there were also falls in Greece, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Italy, Niger and Madagascar. Somalia comes last with Iraq and Afghanistan. (B.C./transl.jl)