Belgium drops in Transparency International global corruption index
Belgium has fallen outside the top 20 in the annual corruption ranking by the NGO Transparency International (TI), De Standaard reports.
Every year, TI conducts a survey on how people perceive corruption in the public sector. It collects data for each country from 13 surveys and assessments, including from the World Bank, the OECD and the Council of Europe, and summarises the results in its corruption perceptions index.
Countries are rated between 0 and 100, where 100 means it is perceived as “very transparent and low in corruption” and 0 means the country is perceived to be “very corrupt”.
Belgium is rated 69 in the latest index, putting it 22nd out of 180 countries. That is six places lower than in 2023, when its score was 73.
Public money
The Eurobarometer survey last summer also showed that two-thirds of Belgians believe corruption is widespread in the country. According to TI’s survey, Belgians are most concerned about how public money is spent by the government, for example for public works. They fear this is often not done in an objective manner. Another concern is that there are too close links between politicians and companies.
Marc Beyens, deputy director of TI Belgium, told De Standaard that there were reasons to worry about corruption in Belgium.
“The data already showed a negative trend even before the recent [money laundering] allegations against former EU Commissioner Didier Reynders came to light, and before the abuses at the CPAS [social welfare agency] in Anderlecht became public,” he said.
“The perception of the population is that things are going downhill with integrity in our government.”
"Transparency, accountability and integrity are principles that are essential for a well-functioning democracy and a strong economy"
The scores of 19 other Western European countries also dropped last year. Countries that have stricter transparency rules, strong protection for whistleblowers and strict controls on public finances score noticeably higher. Denmark has been in first place for several years, followed by Finland and Singapore.
“Transparency, accountability and integrity are principles that are essential for a well-functioning democracy and a strong economy,” Bevens said. “But we note that there is no word on integrity and corruption in the coalition agreement. Hopefully, there will be.”
Former Belgian MEP Marc Tarabella arrives for a vote on a request for waiver of immunity for him and Italian MEP Andrea Cozzolino, as part of the Qatargate investigation into alleged bribery by Qatar and Morocco, Brussels, February 2023 © KENZO TRIBOUILLARD / AFP
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