Strong ties between European businesses and governments is enabling corruption which, in turn, is fueling the ongoing euro crisis, the anti-corruption group Transparency International warned on Monday.
The organization's warning comes in a voluminous new report, "Money, Politics And Power: Corruption Risks In Europe," which points out that Europe is faced with significant corruption risks, particularly at the intersection of business and politics.
The group said nearly every European country has gaps in its laws governing lobbying, the financing of political campaigns and public access to information, which contributed to financial and political scandals in 2011.
"Across Europe, many of the institutions that define a democracy and enable a country to stop corruption are weaker than often assumed," said Cobus de Swardt, the group's managing director. "This report raises troubling questions at a time when transparent leadership is needed as Europe tries to resolve its economic crisis."
The report said four countries in southern Europe, Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain, "are shown to have serious deficits in public sector accountability and deep-rooted problems of inefficiency, malpractice and corruption." Among the European Union's new members, Bulgaria and Romania continued to cause the most concern.
What is required is concerted action backed by firm political commitment the report said.
