Laurence Dollimore
A REPORT by the European Commission has labelled Spain as the most corrupt country in the EU.
Brussels has been left unimpressed and is urging the country to do more to crackdown on bent politicians after it discovered Spain is the largest contributor to the €120 billion that the EU loses to corruption each year.
It says Madrid is unable to control the councils and mayors in the autonomous regions, who have wide-ranging and discretionary powers over urban planning.
The news comes as former mayor of Marbella, Angeles Munoz, is being probed after allegedly altering town planning rules to benefit her property-developing husband.
The report points out how in 2011 alone there were 1,754 lawsuits related to the illegal use of land and urban planning.
It is now asking Spain to improve the way it approaches its corruption problem, which it described as systemic.
It added that even the Transparency Act, which it had described as a
step forward, lacks sufficient independent mechanisms capable of weeding out crooked politicians.
It has now suggested each political party carry out and publish an independent annual audit in a bid to improve transparency.
It also raised concerns over the lack of checks that are made on local administrations’ public spending.
The nature of Spain as a highly decentralised state, it said, allows for the fervent corruption among regional authorities.
Between 1996 and 2009, the report laments, there were more than 5,000 cases of corruption spanning over 600 municipalities.
Spaniards are unlikely to be shocked by the news, however, with 95% perceiving corruption as a widespread problem and a part of their daily lives.
Shocker! Tell us someting we don’t know.
Everyone else other than the people who continue to vote them back in seem to know, or is it just so rampant that complaisance has taken over from common decency?
This is just a political move by the most corrupt, the EU commission itself. Either they were to incompetent to know what happens with the “contributions” or they were fully aware and people were getting rich on both sides. Either way it doesnt look good for Brussels. And this double faced move to scapegoat Spain (who should be brought to justice of course) to cover themselves just makes it more obvious the level of high profile corruption in the elite. The problem with spanish corruption is that it is too arrogant and low level not to get caught, at least other countries have the skills to make it look like it is not there.
Hahahaha…..sorry I could not help myself. The Councils and Mayors of the different autonomies are simply doing what they have learned from Madrid’s Central Government.
Corruption in Spain is like an out of control Virus, the host is the Government! Its institutionalised corruption, with a healthy dose of hypocrisy and antagonistic chronic habit of playing the victim card.
Agree.
Where can we find this eu-report?
Spain is the most corrupt? They must be making their report by watching the news)))))) I guess there are no corruption in ex soviet countries they are in EU now, I thought…….
The EU itself can hardly say anything as it has lost billions of Euros , has not had its account signed off , and has appointed not elected leaders , this in itself is a sign of corruption .
Also the refusal of referendums is another form of corruption .
All the EU is doing is trying to push federalisation which no EU citizen wants , and avoid resolving all the problems that exist in the EU , especially illegal migration and economies .
In fact, the most corrupted party in Spain is right now in the government: Partido Popular. Many of those are under investigation by corruption. It is a political party that carries the Franco’s dna (many of them are members of recognized families that were part of the dictatorial regime). In fact, many of the old formers members of government (also present formers) are being investigated for corruption. But all state institutions are corrupted (including justice).
But not the only PP: PSOE, CiU and other political parties that have ruled and created criminal networks have been discovered.