Malta stagnant in 2021 corruption perceptions index

Malta edged up gently on Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), with a score of 54, up 1 point from the all-time low of 53 in 2020.

Malta’s CPI score – ranking it 49 out of 180 coutries – had been getting worse for several years, reflecting serious corruption challenges that afflict the Mediterranean island nation, and well below the Western European average of 66.

Its score placed it jut below Czechkia, and over Mauritius in the global ranking.

Last year, Malta was dubbed a “significant decliner” in the  2020 CPI, with a score marginally worse than 2019’s ranking, when Malta was in 50th position with a score of 54. Malta then lost six points in the corruption perceptions index for 2018, a full year after the assassination of the journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.

2021 saw the arrest of three men accused of having supplied the bomb that killed Caruana Galizia, as well as the guilty plea of one of the assassination’s triggermen.

The CPI ranking for Malta is compiled by TI’s official partner, the Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation.

With an average score of 66 out of 100, the Western Europe and European Union (EU) region still tops the 2021 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), but progress there has stagnated.

“A worrying new normal is fast being established, as accountability and transparency measures neglected or rolled back during the COVID-19 pandemic remain unrestored, and public trust falls in the wake of procurement scandals,” Transparency International said.

Even top performers are showing concerning signs of backsliding, and the region continues to be rocked by corruption revelations – including exporting corruption to other parts of the world. The long-term consequences of inadequate anti-corruption action are already evident in Hungary (CPI score: 43) and Poland (56), with concerns that Slovenia (57) will soon join them.

Denmark (88) has been joined by Finland (88) at the top of the CPI, followed by Norway (85) and Sweden (85). Bulgaria (42), Hungary (43) and Romania (45) remain the worst performers in the region.