Euro 2012: Poland and Ukraine in the spotlight

On Friday 8 June the eyes of the sporting world will focus on Poland and Ukraine, joint co-hosts of the UEFA Euro 2012 football championship. Held every four years, the tournament is one of the largest sporting events in the world, boasting some 1.4 million tickets, the highest turnover in corporate hospitality spending, and a cumulative global television audience estimated at 4.3 billion viewers.

But big sporting events bring with them huge corruption risks both on and off the field. In recent days a match-fixing scandal has hit members of the Italian national team and an official in Ukraine had to resign following allegations of illegal ticket sales.

Massive expenditure on infrastructure in anticipation of the influx of fans brings with it extra scrutiny. Allegations of corruption have dogged infrastructure projects, primarily in the Ukraine where construction delays, accusations of xenophobia and threats of boycott by some European officials because of the treatment of Yulia Tymoshenko, former head of Ukraine, are threatening the success of the tournament.

So as Europe’s elite national sides take to the pitch for three weeks of football, we have a look at the tournament co-hosts’ performance in a different sphere: anti-corruption and transparency.

Poland and Ukraine in corruption figures

Both Poland and Ukraine score significantly lower than previous host nations on Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index, which measures how corrupt a country’s public sector is perceived to be on a scale of 0 to 10, with 0 meaning highly corrupt and 10 very clean.

Poland ranks 41st out of 183 countries, ahead of most Eastern European states, with a score of 5.5 in the 2011 Corruption Perceptions Index. Ukraine is in 152nd place with a score of 2.3, tied with Tajikistan. The 2008 Euro hosts Austria and Switzerland had scores of 7.8 and 8.8 respectively, whereas 2004 host Portugal had a score of 6.1.

Public perceptions of corruption

In Poland, 57 per cent of the population thinks the government’s actions are inefficient in the fight against corruption, whereas 59 per cent of the public are of this opinion in Ukraine.

When it comes to ranking corrupt institutions, Poles believe their political parties are most corrupt, followed by business and the parliament. In Ukraine, the judiciary is perceived to be the most corrupt institution, followed by the police and businesses.

In our Global Corruption Barometer, 16 per cent of Poles and 37 percent of Ukrainians reported having to pay a bribe in the previous 12 months.

The current state of anti-corruption efforts

Poland is making measurable strides to improve its record on transparency. Our recent report shows that corruption in Poland is currently “no longer a phenomenon of a systemic nature” and the World Bank’s World Governance Indicators show Poland has improved its image regarding the quality of governance. Nonetheless, tolerance of corruption in the country remains high and we recommend a number of reforms to improve transparency and accountability in Poland.

Ukraine has made slow progress in fighting corruption and the society may be characterised as one with a “high tolerance for corrupt practices”. Our National Integrity System report shows that anti-corruption programmes implemented in Ukraine from 2006 to 2009 have not produced the desired results, nor improved public perceptions of corruption in the country. Many institutions in Ukraine continue to “hide behind a veil of secrecy”, and much more needs to be done in terms of anti-corruption efforts. Corruption remains one of the top problems threatening economic growth and development in Ukraine.

Kyiv map

Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, will host the final of the Euro 2012 football tournament. To mark the Day of the Journalist on 6 June, Ukrainian journalist group Stop Censorship produced a map of Kyiv's corruption hotspots, from heritage sites to stadia. The map is one reflection of discontent about the state of Ukraine's anti-corruption efforts.

In the news

Poland

BBC: Polish ex-sports minister Lipiec jailed for corruption

Reuters: Poland detains 7 suspected of shale gas corruption

Ukraine

Agence France-Presse: Ukraine Games boss quits over ticket scandal

Bloomberg Businessweek: Ukraine Soccer Costs Soar as Graft Increases: Chart of the Day

Kyev Post: EP concerned about selective justice, corruption in Ukraine, reads draft resolution