More than 50 percent of Slovaks reported in a recent Eurobarometer survey that they have had personal experience with corruption in everyday life, Ingrid Ludviková from the Representation of the European Commission in Slovakia told the TASR newswire on February 20. As many as 92 percent of respondents living in Slovakia said in the survey that they believe corruption is present in state bodies.

The survey was conducted throughout the EU in September and almost three quarters of those surveyed stated that corruption represented a serious problem in their countries and 47 percent said that corruption had taken deeper roots over the past three years. Eight percent said that they were asked or were expected to pay a bribe during the previous year. 70 percent of those surveyed said corruption has always been present and cannot be stopped, and two-thirds said corruption is part of the business culture of their country.

In June 2011 the European Commission adopted a package of anti-corruption measures aimed at intensifying the fight against corruption at all levels of the EU. A special monitoring and evaluation mechanism was established that is designed to provide a clearer picture of the anti-corruption activities in place throughout the 27 EU countries. The first report is expected to be presented in 2013.

The European Commission is planning to submit further legislative proposals concerning the confiscation of ill-gotten property, reform of the rules pertaining to public procurement, combating criminality, and clamping down on fraud, TASR wrote.

Source: TASR

Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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