Croatia, about to enter the EU, is one of the most corrupt countries in Europe according to a new survey. But Slovenia – an EU and eurozone member – is even worse.
The findings come in an annual report on corporate graft published on Tuesday (7 May) by the US-based financial services company, Ernst & Young.
It interviewed 3,459 company board members in 36 countries worldwide, including 22 EU member states.
It asked whether businesses offer bribes to win or retain contracts or if they deliberately misstate their financial performance.
Ninety percent of people in Croatia, which is to join the EU on 1 July, said “bribery/corrupt practices happen widely in business in this country.”
The figure was 96 percent in Slovenia – which joined the EU in 2004 and which adopted the euro in 2007 – higher even than Kenya, on 94 percent.
Greece and Slovakia came next on 84 percent, followed by the Czech republic (73%), Portugal (72%), Hungary (70%), Spain (65%), Romania (61%) and Italy (60%).
Andrew Rettman