According the EU’s Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmstorm, corruption cost the economy of the European Union about €120 billion a year.
More information concerning each of 28 countries was supposed to be announced on February 3. The European Commission has conducted such a research for the first time. The report will also contain the recommendations for lowering the current level of corruption.
Initially, the Commission planned to reveal the study results six month ago, but later the date was moved, EUobserver said on January 31. The final report will relate only to the situation in the EU states without covering corruption in the EU institutions.
As the commissioner noted, the level of corruption is so high that it can damage the economy of the entire alliance. Meanwhile, Sweden is ranked among the nations with the lowest corruption rate.
The research was based on the two large-scale surveys. It found out that 4 out of 10 EU companies stated bribery as an obstacle to the business development in Europe.
