Slovakia has improved in the corruption perception ranking for the third time in a row and this year reached its historical best. Out of 180 countries worldwide, Slovakia is ranked 47th according to the Transparency International Index.
However, we still lag behind Western countries. Said Michal Piško, Director of Transparency International Slovakia: “While in the EU a reasonable score is 64 points, in our country it is only 54, we are still rather at the bottom of the ranking, as far as the European Union countries are concerned, only seven countries ended up worse - Cyprus, Malta, Croatia, Greece, Romania, Bulgaria and the very last Hungary.”
According to him, the results are an assessment of the previous governments, during which the so-called “big fish” from higher places were brought to justice.
However, with the planned closure of the Office of the Special Prosecutor and the reduction of penalties for corruption, Slovakia’s reputation may deteriorate, says Zuzana Petkova, of the Zastavme korupciu (Stop Corruption) Foundation: “The government is abolishing, for example, open competitions for positions in the state administration, we can see how the ruling parties are favouring their people in place of the experts who would prove their qualities in an open competition.”
Of the post-communist countries, Estonia scores best; it is currently ranked 12th in the world. (RTVS)
