Fight Against Corruption Stagnating in Balkans, Central Europe: Report

Most South-East and Central European countries made little or no progress in the Global Corruption Perceptions Index for 2021 published by the watchdog organisation Transparency International on Tuesday.

This was part of a global trend, with many countries making little progress or experiencing stagnation in corruption levels amid democratic decline and the rise of authoritarianism, which has been "contributing to even higher levels of corruption", the report explains.

"As anti-corruption efforts stagnate worldwide, human rights and democracy are also under assault," Transparency International warns. "This is no coincidence. Our latest analysis shows that protecting human rights is crucial in the fight against corruption."

The watchdog adds that the COVID-19 pandemic "has also been used in many countries as an excuse to curtail basic freedoms and side-step important checks and balances".

Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina fared worst in the Western Balkans region - ranked by Transparency International in equal 110th place on a list of 180 countries worldwide.

"In Albania, journalists suffer lawsuits and intimidation, including excessive control of information related to COVID-19 responses… The pandemic was also used as an excuse to reduce oversight and accountability for public procurement and foreign aid spending, allowing corruption to spread widely," the report says.

Albania's rank declined from 104th last year, while Bosnia and Herzegovina moved up from 111th place. The current political crisis in Bosnia and Herzegovina "draws attention away from human rights violations and blocks the critically important anti-corruption reforms the country needs to make', the report says.

Serbia's rank also declined from 94th...