Corruption in Greece has not increased “but is only now being uncovered,” the General Secretariat for Combating Corruption said in an announcement on Tuesday, responding to press reports. He also pointed out that Transparency International’s annual report for 2016 “refers to a subjective and scientifically controversial measurement of a perception of corruption and not the real level of corruption.”
According to the agency, the recent revelations of major past scandals had a negative impact on the country’s score, since it highlighted the existence of corrupt systems that had previously existed in the shadows.
“An indicative clue to the reliability of the corruption perception index is that our country historically had its best scores in the years 1996 (50), 1997 (53.5) and 2000 (49) even though we are all now aware what the real level of corruption and abuse of public money was,” the announcement said.
The general secretariat underlined that the government has a strong political will and comprehensive plan for fighting corruption, which is it is now implemented “with major results on all levels.” Unveiling corruption “was a strategic choice of the government,” it added, even if this meant a lower score for Greece in Transparency International’s survey.
(source: ana-mpa)
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