Police corruption

Transparency International on Wednesday published its annual global report on perceived corruption in society, indicating that governments in Balkan states have a lot of work to do to eradicate graft, with Macedonia singled out as one of the countries in which the situation has significantly worsened over the year.

Some 45 percent of Turkish respondents of an annual Transparency International survey think corruption has gotten worse over the last four years, while 29 percent think there is less corruption.

Judiciary, Parliament and the Tax system are the three most corrupt sectors in Bulgaria, shows an analysis of the Global Corruption Barometer of Transparency International for 2016, according to the Bulgarian National Radio.

The study was made among 60,000 citizens from 42 countries in Europe and Central Asia.

People in Balkan countries see corruption as one of the key problems in society, often view politicians as corrupt as well, and in many cases do not believe their governments are tackling the issue, a new survey by the watchdog organisation Transparency International shows.

A parliamentary committee has demanded a hearing with the head of the Anti-Corruption Agency, Sreten Radonjic, on Wednesday, following claims by the opposition and human rights watchdogs that corruption remains pervasive in the public administration and the courts.

A new survey has shown that tolerance to corruption among Bulgarian citizens is very low but only one out of 10 believes it is very likely for an official to be convicted on corruption charges in the country, bTV reported on Monday.

Just 2% of 1,000 respondents polled by Exacta Research Group state that they won't blame people who ask for bribes, while 98% don't justify them.

Bulgaria's new anti-corruption draft law now before Parliament is more stringent than the version presented last year, Deputy Prime Minister Meglena Kuneva has told envoys of the European Union and the European Economic Area.

Three states in Southeast Europe have been named as the most corrupt countries in the 28-nation bloc, according to a European Parliament study done by RAND Europe and several other organizations and researchers.

Romania, Bulgaria and Croatia top a list where Eastern European countries are all above EU average levels in terms of corruption.

One in five people worldwide report having paid a bribe for land, with rates even higher in sub-Saharan Africa where women say they are forced to trade sex for property rights, according to research by a top global anti-corruption watchdog. 

More than two-fifth of Turks have claimed their votes are not swayed by allegations of corruption directed towards political parties, a survey conducted by Transparency International Turkey has shown, underscoring that awareness of corruption cases which directly affect personal finances is not present for political corruption allegations in determining voting behavior.