TALLINN, May 23, BNS – The Economist has in an article on corruption in central and eastern Europe described Estonia as probably the most corruption-free country in the region.
“Corruption crackdowns work only if the public administration is simplified to the point where bribe-taking becomes either unnecessary or highly conspicuous. That has been the secret of success in Estonia, probably the cleanest country in the region,” said the article dated May 22.
The Economist said that for corrupt officials in central and eastern Europe, life has seldom been better, as joining the European Union has produced temptingly large puddles of public money to steal.
“And the region’s anti-corruption outfits are proving toothless, sidelined or simply embattled,” it said.
The biggest problems are in Romania and Bulgaria, the EU’s two newest members, whose apparent inability (or disinclination) to deal with high-level corruption has led to increasingly acerbic public warnings from Brussels.
But other countries have done badly too.
“Before accession, governments were under close scrutiny. Now the fight against corruption is not a priority,” commented Drago Kos, president of GRECO, an anti-corruption outfit affiliated to the Council of Europe.
“The Europeanization of political elites was largely taken for granted,” Alina Mungiu-Pippidi, a Berlin-based Romanian academic, was quoted as saying.
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