EU notes the high level of corruption in Armenia

The level of corruption in Armenia remains high, First Counselor of the EU delegation to Armenia Onno Simmons said at a seminar on «The role of civil society and media in the fight against corruption: current activities and challenges,» writes Trend referring to News-Armenia.

«Corruption is still a major problem and a challenge for the country,» Simmons said, recalling that amongst 176 countries Armenia shares the 105-112 positions with a number of countries (Algeria , Bolivia, Cameroon, Kosovo, Mali, Mexico and the Philippines), according to the Corruption Perception Index 2012 of the international anti-corruption organization Transparency International.

He also noted that corruption is recognized as one of the most common phenomena that impedes business development.

In turn, an international expert in the fight against corruption, head of the EU-administered «Case study on corruption in the public sector of Armenia» Londa Esadze noted that the role of media in the fight against corruption is very high, however, the mass media in Armenia is not entirely free.

Transparency International has been formulating its index since 1995; indexes rank countries according to the degree of corruption in their public sectors.

Transparency International's rankings consider all forms of corrupt activities, including bribes to officials, the involvement of officials in the distribution of profits from public works contracts, as well as illegal or improper expenditure of budgetary funds. It also evaluates the effectiveness of anti-corruption measures taken by the government.

Adapted from Vestnik Kavkaza