Poland improves on corruption, but still worst in EU

Poland is the most corrupt EU country, according to an index of the most corrupt countries in the world
Poland shared 58th place with Turkeyand Lithuania in Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index.

The index, published each year, focuses onhow businesspeople and other professionals perceive corruption in theircountry. Poland's score improved by 0.4 points this year to 4.6. The point systemranges from one (very corrupt) to 10 (least corrupt).

Stanislaw Cichocki, executive director at Transparency International, said that Polandwas a leader amongst countries trying to change for the better.

According to the report, the performance ofGreece, Italy, the Czech Republic and Poland was poor and "showed little or no sign of improvement." The reportadds that due to this the EU's credibility could be weakened in the fightagainst corruption among new members and countries in line for accession.

Iraq and Myanmar tied for second-most corrupt in the ranking, while Somaliatook last place.

"In the poorest countries, corruptionlevels can mean the difference between life and death, when money for hospitalsor clean water is in play," said Huguette Labelle, chair of TransparencyInternational.

Denmark, New Zealand and Sweden took the three highest spots in the 180-country index.

Link