Malta 'least corrupt' of new EU states

Malta ranks as the least corrupt country among the new EU member states, according to Transparency International, the global watchdog devoted to curbing corruption.

Placed 25th among 159 countries, Malta was also given a higher ranking than Portugal, Italy and Greece, which lie in 26th, 40th and 47th place respectively in the least corrupt index.

More than two-thirds of the nations surveyed in Transparency International's 2005 Corruption Perceptions Index scored less than five out of a clean score of 10, indicating serious levels of corruption in the majority of the countries surveyed.

Malta obtained a score of 6.6, minimally below the 6.8 registered last year. Still, the score places the island above the other nine new EU states, some of which lurk embarrassingly low.

When contacted, TI's regional director for Europe Miklos Marschall hailed Malta's result as a very positive one, even when compared to the "old" EU member states.

He said that Malta's score was derived by combining reports from the Merchant International Group, three global competitiveness reports of the World Economic Forum and the World Market Research Centre.

"We have enough reasons to believe that the score is quite reliable," Mr Marschall added.

Such reports, he said, were the result of having probed several business leaders and analysts and delved into various issues, from political corruption to whether businessmen offered bribes to public officials to exhort licences. Perceptions and surveys were also factored in.

Bangladesh and Chad were ranked the most corrupt on the Berlin-based watchdog group's annual list, while Iceland, Finland and New Zealand were the least corrupt in that order.

Of the new EU states, Estonia trailed Malta by two places while Latvia and Poland lay in 51st and 70th positions respectively, the latter ranked with Syria.

Countries like the Czech Republic and Poland show little or no sign of improvement, TI said, singling out rampant bureaucracy and frequent conflicts of interest.

"The result is pretty embarrassing for Poland, and for the EU if you take into consideration the country's size. It also goes to show that while the EU accession process provided a forceful tool to promote anti-corruption rules, such pressure is gone once they've joined the club," Mr Marschall told The Times.

Romania and Bulgaria, which hope to join the EU in 2007, scored 3 and 4 - well below the 5 the TI considers acceptable - and would have the greatest perceived corruption in the EU if they were members today.