Survey: Fear of Corruption among Slovak Companies Has Grown in Recent Years

Bratislava, December 14 (TASR) - Companies in Slovakia fear corruption more than ever in recent years and are particularly concerned about rigged public contracts, unequal access to various permits and the fact that the corrupt are not punished, as reported in line with the results of a number of surveys by the 'Let's Stop Corruption' foundation published on Monday. In a joint survey conducted by the German, Austrian, Italian, French and Dutch chambers of commerce on the state of the economy among European investors in Slovakia, the issue of fighting corruption received a rating of 4.2 (on a scale of one to five). "This is not only the worst result in the past three years, but also the lowest-rated indicator for Slovakia in the economic policy category," said Let's Stop Corruption' head Zuzana Petkova. The same survey also showed that Slovakia is less attractive for foreign companies than it's been in the past five years. The perception of corruption in Slovak business has increased more than almost anywhere in Europe over the past year. Among 500 business people, 85 percent said corruption is a widespread problem in Slovakia. "Compared to last year, this is a deterioration of 6 percentage points, which has earned us the sixth-worst ranking in the EU," the foundation added. At the same time, Slovak entrepreneurs are the least likely among Europeans to believe that companies and individuals involved in corruption will be punished or brought to justice. "Only 26 percent of companies in Slovakia expect fair punishment for corruption, while the European average is 54 percent. This was also revealed in the survey," stated the foundation. lin/df/ko