Rule of Law in the EU: worst performing EU countries for corruption 2012-2022

The European Union's member states have widely differing experiences when it comes to corruption and the rle of law. While some states such as Denmark and Finland show extremely low levels of corruption, others find the issue to be one of the key challenges facing their countries.For Malta, Croatia, Romania, Bulgaria, and Hungary, the issue of domestic corruption is particularly severe, as they are ranked as the bottom five member states in Transparency International's corruption perceptions index in 2022. In these EU member states, officials in public administration or the justice system are more likely to be swayed by bribes and citizens' civil and political liberties are less likely to be respected.Croatia, Romania, and Bulgaria have seen a slight increase in their scores over the past decade, while for Hungary and Malta the situation with corruption has significantly deteriorated. Hungary in particular has seen its score fall from 55 in 2012 to only 42 in 2022, as the country's illiberal Prime Minister Viktor Orban has implemented reforms to the media, judiciary, and political system which have substantially worsened corruption.

在欧洲联盟的成员国中，各国在腐败问题及法治角色方面存在着显著的差异。丹麦与芬兰等国家展现出极低的腐败水平，而其他国家则将腐败视为其国家面临的主要挑战之一。对于马耳他、克罗地亚、罗马尼亚、保加利亚和匈牙利等国而言，国内腐败问题尤为严重，它们在2022年透明国际的腐败感知指数中排名倒数五位。在这些欧盟成员国中，公共行政或司法系统中的官员更容易受到贿赂的影响，而公民的民事与政治自由也较少受到尊重。克罗地亚、罗马尼亚和保加利亚在过去十年中其得分略有上升，而匈牙利和马耳他的腐败状况则显著恶化。特别是匈牙利，其得分从2012年的55分降至2022年的42分，这一变化主要归因于该国非自由主义总理维克托·奥兰德实施的媒体、司法和政治体制改革，这些改革在很大程度上加剧了腐败现象。