(Podgorica, 5 December 2012) – The international organization Transparency International demonstrates the worsening of Montenegro’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI). Montenegro now ranks 75th of 174 countries listed.
Montenegro has slid 9 positions in relation to last year, currently tied in 75th place alongside Bulgaria, Liberia and Tunisia.
It’s worth noting that all the countries in the region, other than Montenegro and Albania, ranked higher than they did last year. Thus Croatia, Macedonia, Bosnia and Hercegovina ranked higher than Montenegro, while Serbia, Albania and Kosovo are lagging behind.
Montenegro’s index score was slightly better than last year, but only by a slight margin, therefore, given the greater progress made by other countries we fell behind the region.
| Country | Ranking 2012 | Ranking 2011 | CPI 2012 | CPI 2011 |
| Croatia | 62 | 66 | 4.6 | 4.0 |
| Macedonia | 69 | 69 | 4.3 | 3.9 |
| Bosnia and Hercegovina | 72 | 91 | 4.2 | 3.2 |
| Montenegro | 75 | 66 | 4.1 | 4.0 |
| Serbia | 80 | 86 | 3.9 | 3.3 |
| Albania | 113 | 95 | 3.3 | 3.1 |
| Kosovo | 105 | 112 | 3.4 | 2.9 |
This data confirms that in the fight against corruption the government has only been using rhetoric, while in reality there is no political will to secure concrete results, which can seriously threaten the process of European integration, as well as the survival of the economy, since foreign investors that respect the law aren’t ready to invest in countries in which corruption is the rule, not the exception.
Judging according to the composition of the new government, the majority of whose members is accused of numerous corruption scandals that have not been addressed by the courts, it is to be expected that concrete results will not be seen in the coming period and that the trend of Montenegro’s CPI worsening will continue.
MANS is Transparency International’s partner in Montenegro.
