Transparency

Greece's performance in Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index worsened last year with the country rising to 69th place out of 167 countries, compared to 58th the year before.

Bosnia's parliament will soon vote on a draft law to amend the current law on the financing of political parties, with the goal of increasing transparency.

Turkey's economic development, which has been "looking quite good," hampers the exposure of "real problems," according to OECD Working Group on Bribery chair Drago Kos, who urged that the low level of transparency should be higher on the agenda.

Many Turkish institutions cannot operate with transparency and a participatory approach to governance because of the long shadow cast by the executive, according to a new report by Transparency International Turkey after an in-depth analysis of 15 institutions. 

Turkey's score in Transparency International's 2015 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) fell by three points from the previous year to 42, making the country one of the index's worst performers over the past four years, alongside countries such as Libya and Brazil. 

Bulgaria ranks 69th in the latest Corruption Perceptions Index of Transparency International released on Wednesday.

Bulgaria retained its ranking from 2014, but its score slightly declined from 43 to 41.

Sharing the 69th position with Jamaica, Bulgaria is the most corrupt country among the member states of the EU.

Freedom of press and independence of the judiciary are vital for the fight against corruption, stated Transparency International, addressing escalating concerns over detainments of journalism in Turkey.

Serbia and Croatia scored highly among 54 countries in a survey of the transparency of finances in politics conducted by the NGO Global Integrity.

Alternate Minister for Administrative Reform Christoforos Vernardakis announced government plans to introduce a new system for the evaluation and mobility of public servants, establish the National Register for managers and a selection system for supervisors based on merit and to reduce the administrative burden.

The Serbian government believes that the new law will not only boost the fight against crime and corruption, but also ensure that people regularly report their income and pay taxes.

However, watchdog organisation Transparency Serbia warned that the outcome might not meet these expectations.