January 29th, 2019
Bucharest

Romania`s situation in 2018

 

Corruption Perception Index (CPI) 2018, published today by Transparency International, reveals that the continued failure of most countries to significantly control corruption is contributing to a crisis of democracy around the world.

More than two-thirds of the 180 ranked countries gain scores below 50, the global average being 43 points. Maybe the most alarming fact is that the vast majority of the evaluated countries haven’t made significant progresses in recent years. The index uses a scale of zero to 100, where zero means highly corrupt and 100 is very clean.

Romania remains among flawed democracies

At the level of the European Union Member States, the average score is about 65 points, down from the previous year by more than one point. Denmark (88 points), Finland (85 points) and Sweden (85 points) remain in top three, as in 2017.

Romania remains on the 25th position in EU ranking, but its score decreases with one point compared to 2017, from 48 to 47 points. With 42 points, Bulgaria remains on the last position in European Union, also losing a point over the previous year. Greece loses three points, from 48 in 2017 to 45 in 2018. Instead, Hungary gains one point, reaching 46 points in 2018.

The chart below shows the evolution of Romania in the last seven years, compared to other EU Member States, by comparing the CPI obtained scores over the 2012-2018.


Grafic tari CPI 2018

 

In 2018 the focus was on relationship between corruption and of global democracy trends. Some of the global analysis conclusions are valid also at national level:

  • Corruption may weaken the rule of law mechanisms, including governmental and judicial power.
  • Lack of prioritization of anti-corruption reforms, as well as rising populist rhetoric overlap with the weakening of democratic institutions in many countries, including from EU members.
  • By undermining the vital pillars of democracy, including elections and judicial independence, corruption can produce a vicious cycle, where corruption undermines democratic institutions, and in turn weak institutions are less able to control corruption.
  • Full democracies countries earn an average score of 75 on the CPI; no single country in this category scores less than 50.
  • By contrast, flawed democracies earn an average score of 49 points. Instead, hybrid regimes – which show elements of autocratic tendencies – score 35.

 


 

TI Recommendations for EU Member States

  • Enforce the rule of law so that all public powers act within the constraints set out by law, in accordance with the values of democracy and fundamental rights, and under the control of independent and impartial courts.
  • Protect whistleblowers so that all citizens can safely report wrongdoing in the public and private spheres.
  • Improve legislative transparency and access to information that is required for effective public oversight.
  • Ensure a civic space that is safe for civil society to engage in dialogue with governments and authorities without fear of retaliation
  • Protect press freedom and the crucial role that media plays in democracy.

 

Grafic UE 2018

 

Solutions proposed by Transparency International Romania

At the national level, priority objectives still remain unfulfilled, for example: implementation of correct measures in preventing corruption and minimizing vulnerabilities; approval and promotion of some strong internal mechanisms with corrective function within public administration.

The concrete solutions proposed by Transparency International Romania include:

  • Establishment of the National Conformity Registry, public utility tool, proposed by our organization in order to increase the administrative transparency and to help reduce vulnerabilities to corruption and abusive administrative controls.
  • Modernization of good local governance standards, by implementing the Integrity System in local public administration, based on a model elaborated and successfully applied by TI in other European countries.

In addition, Transparency International Romania reiterates that the success of the fight against corruption is directly linked to strong and stable institutions in their entirety. We need strong independent institutions, responsible leaders and citizens involved in the life of the local community.

 For more information please contact: Georgeta Filip, public relations specialist Transparency International Romania, e-mail:
georgeta . filip@transparency.org.ro

 


Transparency International Romania has 20 year of activity in the non-governmental sector, period during which it also contributed to the establishment of public institutions, such as The National Integrity Agency and National Anti-corruption Division, has developed public policies and standards of ethics and integrity in the public sector and business environment.  We are consistent with the principles that guide us in our work: integrity, impartiality, responsibility, professionalism.

More information about Corruption Perception Index 2018 at global and national level is available on: www.transparency.org.ro


Data publicare: 29/01/2019