Portugal fell nine places in the 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index and obtained its worst result ever. The failing was, “particularly driven by the perception of abuse in public office for private benefits,” in cases such as ‘Operation Influencer’.
The Transparency International index, published since 2012 and in which Portugal has been in “continuous decline since 2015,” places Portugal in 43rd position among the 180 countries evaluated, nine places below its 2023 position of 34, with 57 points on a scale of 0 (highly corrupt states) to 100 (high integrity of states in the fight against corruption).
In the index, Portugal shares 43rd place with Botswana and Rwanda, but is better placed than European partners such as Spain and Italy.
“Portugal’s decline is driven by the deterioration of valuations from various sources used in the calculation of this Index. The decline was particularly driven by the perception of abuse of public office for private benefit and by weaknesses in public integrity mechanisms to prevent this abuse,” reads the statement from the Portuguese branch of Transparency International on national results in the Global Index.
“Portugal’s performance was one of the worst in Western Europe, with a drop of four points in the score and the loss of nine positions in the global ranking,” highlighted the organisation.
Among the factors that contributed to the degradation of Portugal’s position is, according to Transparency International Portugal (TI Portugal), a negative assessment of the country’s effectiveness in combating corruption, the functioning of public institutions, and law enforcement.
Other factors are weak anti-corruption law enforcement and public sector oversight, “including gaps in the prevention of conflicts of interest and the declaration of assets by politicians;” in addition to situations of nepotism, political favouritism, and lack of transparency in party financing.
TI Portugal also points to the classification “below the European average” with regard to the perception of corruption in the public sector and refers to “recent scandals, such as ‘Operation Influencer'” as a justification for “the increase in the perception of corruption in the links between politics and business.”
In a statement, they add:
The organisation also refers to “persistent weaknesses in the fight against corruption” and warns that, despite new legal mechanisms, “international perception indicates that implementation and enforcement continue to fall short of what is necessary.”
“There are recognised failures in the implementation of the Government’s anti-corruption strategy, as well as a lack of resources to monitor the executive. Portugal now has the challenge of demonstrating concrete progress in the implementation of reforms, to prevent its position from continuing to deteriorate in the coming years and to regain international confidence in the integrity of its public sector.”
The President of the Portuguese representation of TI, Margarida Mano, stresses that the results “serve as a warning of the reputational damage that Portugal is suffering for not being effective in the fight against corruption”.
“The worst result ever is due first of all to a cumulative component. Portugal has identified structural problems that have not been corrected, with impact and wear and tear over time, revealing a lack of political commitment and low effectiveness in the actions developed.”
He further identifies conjunctural circumstances, such as Operation Influencer, which negatively influenced the perception of integrity in the public sector.”
“The way to improve Portugal’s reputation in the fight against corruption is to show definite anti-corruption commitment.
TI Portugal argues that “there is a lack of clarity and political commitment” in the anti-corruption strategy, which “lacks concrete goals, conviction, and political engagement,” and there is a lack of speed in justice, calling for procedural acceleration, the simplification of mega-processes and the fight against dilatory expedients and the statute of limitations for procedural delays.
He also says that there is a lack of oversight, asking for tools for greater transparency and scrutiny in the public sector, as well as a lack of regulation of lobbying, a measure that is foreseen within the scope of the anti-corruption agenda of the current executive.
TI Portugal argues that bodies such as the Entity for Transparency and the National Anti-Corruption Mechanism (MENAC) should have financial reinforcement and budgetary autonomy that guarantees “effective and independent” action.
“Finally, the control of politicians’ assets and income must be more rigorous. To avoid conflicts of interest and ensure an integrity public administration, it is essential to strengthen the regime of impediments, increase transparency in the selection criteria for public positions, and combat the phenomenon of “revolving doors” between political and private sectors.”
The Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) was created in 1995 and revised in 2012 to allow comparisons of annual developments, and is composed of sources of corruption analysis developed by other independent organisations with the aim of assessing levels of corruption within the public sector.
“Transparency International Portugal (Transparency and Integrity, Civic Association) is the Portuguese representative of Transparency International, a global anti-corruption coalition present in more than 100 countries, and is dedicated to research, advocacy, and awareness on the causes and consequences of corruption and bad governance,” according to the presentation of TI Portugal.
Samantha Gannon
info at madeira-weekly.com
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