A black hole is a region of spacetime exhibiting such strong gravitational effects that nothing - including particles and electromagnetic radiation such as light - can escape from inside it. Though apocalyptic, this phenomenon is nonetheless a frequent occurrence in deep space. Comparing a black hole to something like corruption is also a frequent occurrence in the world we live in, maybe all too frequent? Or is it?

Quote: “Corruption is a big black hole at the heart of the European economy!” The words belong to none other than Carl Dolan, Director of the Transparency International’s EU Office. We cannot but agree – according to a RAND Europe econometric analysis commissioned by the European Parliament, the losses for the whole of the EU through corruption amount to up to 990 bn. euro in GDP terms. Bulgaria’s share in this black hole is (a mere) 19 bn. euro, yet this constitutes one fifth of the country’s GDP. The analysis uses three indexes to gauge the level of corruption in each of the 28 member countries. Bulgaria occupies second place in all three, with corruption levels by far higher than the average levels for the EU.

Leader in the International Country Risk Guide (ICRG) which assesses corruption within the political system is Latvia, followed by Bulgaria and then Lithuania.

In the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) which ranks countries by their perceived levels of corruption, as determined by expert assessments and opinion surveys, Bulgaria is second only to Romania and is followed by Greece.

In the last criterion category, the Control of Corruption Index (COC) which assesses governance and the effective tools of state support, Romania again tops the list of countries, with Bulgaria second and Croatia third.

But the damage inflicted by the black hole of corruption reaches beyond the economy. The analysis results indicate that corruption also causes deep social and political traumas. Social traumas – social inequality deepens, organized crime levels rise, the supremacy of law is undermined. Political traumas – voter turnout at general elections drops, confidence in the EU institutions plummets. And not just in the institutions of the EU, we could add, but in the national institutions as well, as indicated by surveys conducted here, in Bulgaria.

Interestingly, according to RAND Europe, the most effective tool against corruption could be applying a Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM) - applied to Bulgaria and Romania - to other EU member states where corruption levels are high. That would reduce corruption costs by up to 70 bn. euro annually. As a matter of fact this same idea was also expressed by Bulgarian MEPs recently, though what they were actually demanding was the lifting of the CVM for Bulgaria, stating it was ineffective, or alternately its application to all members of the EU. Naturally, the idea was rejected by the European Commission which has other worries like the torrent of refugee pouring into Europe. And so, the gravitational pull of the black corruption hole gathers strength.

English version: Milena Daynova