Covid crisis worsened corruption in EU: watchdog

Transparency International

The pandemic has worsened corruption across the European Union, Transparency International said Tuesday, with citizens at times needing personal connections to get medical care and some governments using the crisis for their own gain. The anti-graft watchdog surveyed more than 40,000 people in the EU's 27 member states between October and December 2020. On average, it found that 29 percent had relied on favours or well-connected friends and family to access public sector health services last year. Six percent of respondents resorted to paying an outright bribe.