Many people living in Belgium think corruption is still rife in the country, but few people feel they are personally affected by it on a daily basis.
Overall, the Special Eurobarometer on Corruption, published on Wednesday, highlighted that corruption remains a serious concern for citizens in the EU and that many (68%) believe that corruption is still widespread in their country. In Belgium, this percentage is slightly lower (56%, down by 12 percentage points since 2019).
Meanwhile, 16% of respondents from Belgium said they are personally affected by corruption in their daily life, compared to 24% across all EU Member States. Just 7% of people said that, in the last 12 months, they experienced or witnessed any case of corruption.
Corruption for own gains
Most people in Belgium who believed corruption was still common thought it was mostly alive among political parties, followed by politicians at all levels. Among those that residents believed would also be likely to be bribed were officials awarding public tenders or building permits, and private companies.
In total, 66% of people in Belgium indicated that they believed the national public institutions and the local or regional public institutions in the country are corrupt, compared to the EU average of 74% and 72%, respectively.
Meanwhile, officials working for the courts, social security and welfare authorities, public prosecution services and the education sector were the least likely to participate in bribery, according to the survey's findings.
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While fewer Belgian residents think it acceptable to give a gift to a person in a local authority to get something done (22% of Belgian residents believe this is acceptable, compared to the EU average of 28%), they were more likely to think doing a favour or giving money was acceptable (32% and 22%, respectively).
Almost 70% of people believed corruption is part of the business culture in Belgium, while 56% responded that they thought having political ties was the only way businesses could succeed in the country (higher than the EU average of 53%).
As far as EU companies are concerned, 63% believe that corruption is also a widespread problem in their country.
The EU is looking to more actively combat corruption to foster a culture of rule of law in all EU countries, and for the first time, this year's edition of the Rule Of Law Report 2022 contains targeted recommendations to the Member States to combat this issue within their borders.
