Corruption in the EU’s poorest state has reached record levels, according to a new report.
The research by the Study for Democracy, a Sofia-based think tank, found the number of people participating in corruption is now the highest in 15 years, and has increased despite significant pressure from Brussels on Bulgaria to improve in its fight against corruption.
Some 158,000 corrupt transactions are believed to be carried out each month.
The report found this year 39% of Bulgarians aged over 18 had come under pressure to pay a bribe, and 29% had done so.
Corruption was most acute in the civil administration, but 2014 also saw a "formidable scale of political corruption," the study found. It also noted that criminal law enforcement was “ineffective and inadequate” as a result.
Various European institutions have cited Bulgaria as one of Europe’s most corrupt nations and it is under assessment for progress in eliminating corruption and organised crime.
If this report is to be believed, progress looks non-existent.
Eliminating corruption was supposedly one of the criteria for entry into the EU.
Bulgaria has suffered from the rapid succession of a number of governments which have not had much time to institute anti-corruption measures.
