NGO issues warning as Belgium stagnates in anti-corruption index
Transparency International has warned of worsening corruption in democracies around the world. In its annual report presenting the 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index, the NGO gave its lowest global average score in more than 10 years. Belgium ranks 21st.
Belgium’s place in the ranking of least corrupt countries is stagnating, and TI has warned that action needs to be taken to turn the tide. While its position remains the same as last year, Belgium has deteriorated significantly since 2016.
TI gives scores ranging from zero (extremely corrupt) to 100 (very clean), based on interviews with businesses and experts using a scientific method. Ten years ago, Belgium scored 77, which has fallen to 69.
Abuse of position
“This means that experts and the business community believe that corruption in Belgium is rising and that there is no effective approach to combating it,” TI says.
“This decline is not surprising: almost every day, the media reports cases of influential figures from the political, administrative, judicial and other spheres abusing their legitimate position to serve their personal interests or those of their family, friends, a company, etc.”
To turn the tide, politicians and officials need to show ethical leadership, with stricter regulations on lobbying, accepting gifts and cumulating mandates. There should be mechanisms to monitor these measures, while civil society and the media have a role to play in exposing corruption.
"Experts and the business community believe that corruption in Belgium is rising and that there is no effective approach to combating it"
The EU is currently considering legislation that would require member states to draw up an anti-corruption plan.
Political pressure
The US ranks 30th in the latest rankings. According to the authors, under Donald Trump, the country has “changed from a fighter of corruption worldwide to a booster of it”. TI is concerned about “using political pressure to silence press and civil society organisations, normalising conflicts of interest and transactional politics, and undermining the independent judiciary”.
Several developed democracies rank worse today than they did a decade ago. The Netherlands has lost five points, falling from 83 to 78, the UK 11 and Belgium eight. The Netherlands is at its lowest rating ever.
Denmark leads the list with 89 points, followed by Finland with 88. South Sudan and Somalia share the bottom spot.
Lawyers for MEP Eva Kaili speak to the media at the Paiais de Justice in Brussels, 2023, during an investigation into corruption in the European Parliament © PHOTO MONASSE T / ANDBZ / ABACAPRESS.COM
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