This article was originally published in English
The response varies depending on the parameters taken into consideration and whether the European Union or Europe as a whole is considered
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Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has been accused of turning Hungary into the “most corrupt country in the EU” after his speech to the European Parliament last week.
After Orbán set out his priorities for the on Wednesday Hungarian presidency of the EU, Péter Hungariana former member of Orbán’s Fidesz party who has emerged as Orbán’s main political rival, reproached the prime minister for ruining the country’s reputation.
“I am happy that at least here, on behalf of the opposition and millions of Hungarians, I can ask you questions,” Magyar said, addressing Orbán directly.
“I hope you can now explain to Hungarians why Hungary went from being a shining star to what is officially the poorest and most corrupt country in the European Union,” Magyar added.
This sentiment was echoed by other MEPs, such as German Moritz Körner, who called Orbán a “fraud” and called on him to resign.
But is it really true that Hungary is the most corrupt country in the EU or even on the continent?
It depends: Hungary consistently ranks among the most corrupt European countries according to various rankings, but whether it is the worst country for financial crimes depends on the parameters used.
Transparency International’s latest corruption perception index places Hungary at the bottom of all EU countries.
On a scale of zero to one hundred, where zero is highly corrupt and one hundred is transparent, Hungary scored 42, followed by Bulgaria with 45 and Romania with 46.
This parameter places Hungary in 76th place out of 180 countries in the world.
Transparency International criticized Hungary for “over a decade of systematic violation of the rule of law”, which has allowed corruption to “thrive without sanctions”.
He added that Hungary’s attempts to silence critics reveal “the Orbán government’s commitment to protecting the status quo.”
If we consider Europe as a whole, Russia is the country with the highest number of financial crimes, according to Transparency International, with a score of 26 out of 100 and 141st place out of 180.
Perceived widespread corruption in the EU
If we change the classification system, the results also change.
The 2024 Eurobarometer survey on EU citizens’ attitudes towards corruption found that 68 percent of Europeans consider corruption to be widespread in their country.
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Among these, Greece was perceived as having the worst black money problem, with 98 percent of citizens saying corruption is widespread. Portugal and Malta follow, with 96 and 95 percent respectively.
Hungary ranked eighth, but a clear majority of people still consider the country corrupt: 88 percent.
Across the bloc, European citizens think their government is not doing enough to tackle corruption.
About 65 percent believe that high-level corruption cases are not prosecuted sufficiently, and only 30 percent think that government efforts to combat illicit funds are effective.
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