Malta continued to perform poorly in the latest Corruption Perception Index for 2023, as it retained a score of just 51 points out of 100 – making it classified as a ‘Flawed Democracy.’

The Corruption Perception Index, which is published annually by Transparency International, ranks 180 countries and territories around the world by their perceived levels of public sector corruption, scoring on a scale of 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean).

It gave Malta a score of just 51, citing concerns about legal intimidation by powerful businesses and politicians together with issues relating to the investigation into the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia.

Transparency International noted that “a recent European Parliament resolution called on the Maltese authorities to step up investigations into possible instances of former public officials attempting to conceal evidence and obstruct investigations and judicial proceedings of the murder of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.”

Malta’s score of 51 is identical to the score given to it in 2022’s edition.

According to the ranking, the only European Union countries which come in with a lower score than Malta are Croatia (50), Greece (49), Romania (46), Bulgaria (45), and Hungary (42).

Other European countries such as Montenegro (46), North Macedonia (42), Moldova (42), Kosovo (41), Albania (37), Belarus (37), Serbia (36), Ukraine (36), and Russia (26) all score less than Malta.

Denmark (90), Finland (87), New Zealand (85), Norway (84), and Singapore (83) make up the top five countries in the rankings.

Other countries such as Saudi Arabia (52), Rwanda (53), and Qatar (58) all rank higher than Malta.

Transparency International’s report reads that despite that fact that 20 years ago 190 countries united under the UN Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) to stop corruption, they are largely failing to achieve this: over 80% of the world’s population lives in countries with CPI scores below the global average of 53.

“In addition, the top 25 countries in the index make up just over 10 per cent of all people. Corruption therefore remains a challenge that directly or indirectly harms most people,” the report reads.

Zeroing in on Europe, it was noted that the average score of 65 out of 100 has dropped for the first time in almost a decade in Western Europe and the European Union.

“Despite remaining the top-scoring region in the CPI, robust anti-corruption measures continue to be undermined by the weakening of checks and balances. The erosion of political integrity contributes to diminishing public trust in countries’ ability to tackle the region’s ongoing challenges,” the report reads.

“The 2023 CPI reveals that anti-corruption efforts have stagnated or declined in more than three-quarters of the countries in the region. Among the 31 countries assessed, only six have improved their score, while eight have declined since 2012,” Transparency International said. 

Transparency International highlighted how the EU has highlighted issues in the appointment judges and the overall quality of the justice system in countries across the region, including Sweden, Spain, Poland, Croatia, Malta, Greece, Lithuania, and Ireland.

It also noted that “measures to curb undue influence in public decision making continue to fall short, eroding citizen trust in the rule of law. Political integrity scandals persist, shaping politics across the region and highlighting the need to strengthen rules regarding conflict of interest, ethics standards, and lobbying transparency.”

Transparency International however noted positively that last year the European Commission proposed an anti-corruption package to bolster the tools available for EU member states to combat corruption. The package includes a dedicated anti-corruption directive, which would harmonise legal rules across EU member states against corruption offences, increase criminal sanctions and expand the measures available to law enforcement for the investigation and prosecution of corruption.

“The region is at a crossroads in restoring public trust. In the year ahead, the EU Institutions must take the opportunity to raise standards and better enforce its own rules to step up its efforts against corruption,” the organisation said.