Third time in a row

Corruption: Hungary once again brings up the rear in the EU

(Bild: APA/AFP or licensors, Krone KREATIV)

According to the latest data from Transparency International, Hungary is the most corrupt country in the EU - for the third time in a row.

All the promised reforms and legislative initiatives to better combat corruption in recent years have not really translated into concrete improvements. Hungary has even slipped one point further down the rankings compared to the previous year. The country achieved 41 out of 100 points.

Reasons for the poor result
In 2007, Hungary achieved its best result with tenth place, after which there was a steady decline, the news portal "hvg" stated on Tuesday. According to Transparency, systematic violations of the rule of law and thus the facilitation of corruption are behind Hungary's negative rating. The organization also criticized the lack of anti-corruption measures. The portal also recalls embezzled EU funds as part of the free-market economy.

Austria with the worst result since the ranking began
The EU leaders are Denmark with 90 points and Finland with 88. Austria was also given a poor report card. With 67 out of 100 points, the Alpine republic was only ranked 25th in the Corruption Perception Index (CPI). This is the worst result since the CPI was first published.