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   From: yourdime@outlook.com   
      
   Hungary was ranked as the most corrupt country in the EU for the second   
   straight year, according to the 29th annual Transparency International's   
   Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) report released on January 30.   
      
   On a scale of 0-100, with zero being the most corrupt, Hungary scored 43   
   points, the same as the year earlier, followed by Bulgaria and Romania   
   with 45 and 46 points, respectively.   
      
   Hungary’s global ranking improved by one notch to 76th, placing the   
   country in the group of countries such as Bahrain, Cuba, Trinidad and   
   Tobago, Moldova, Northern Macedonia and China.   
      
   In 2012, Hungary was ranked 46th globally and 9th in Europe with 55 points   
   when Transparency International adopted its current methodology, but since   
   then, it has seen a steady and rather unprecedented decline. Only Cyprus   
   reported a fall of a similar scale among EU members between 2012 and 2023,   
   dropping 13 points.   
   Hungary’s results are significantly worse than those of its regional   
   peers. The Czech Republic was ranked 16th with 57 points, Slovakia and   
   Poland were 19th with 54 points each.   
      
   Transparency’s CPI ranks countries in terms of the degree to which   
   corruption is perceived to exist among public officials and politicians.   
   It is a complex index, often called the “survey of surveys”, drawing on   
   corruption-related data from expert and business surveys carried out by   
   various independent and well-known institutions.   
      
   Hungary is increasingly drifting away from the EU centre, commented Jozsef   
   Peter Martin, Executive Director of Transparency International Hungary,   
   after presenting TI's annual corruption report, which examines the state   
   of the rule of law and the impact of corruption on economic performance.   
      
   The report devotes a special chapter on public procurement, an illicit   
   instrument that channels public funds to companies with good liaisons with   
   the ruling party.   
      
   Viktor Orban's government has made little effort to restore the rule of   
   law and fight corruption, which are the preconditions to continue to enjoy   
   EU funds.   
      
   Budapest's actions appear more of a balancing act of reluctantly complying   
   with EU guidelines while defending the interests of cronies, according to   
   Martin, who observes that the implementation of anti-corruption   
   legislation passed last year is 'half-hearted, to say the least'.   
      
   https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/hungary-remains-most-corrupt-   
   country-in-eu-transparency-international-finds/ar-BB1hwZPg   
      
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