Graft costs EU states €323 billion, ‘three times’ earlier estimates

Corruption is costing EU countries €323 billion annually, says a new report, defying Europe's image as a global front-runner in the fight against graft.

A report on corruption published on the 9 April 2013 by the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin and the Bertelsmann Foundation showed the real cost of corruption to be well above previous estimates - €100 billion .

The study showed a correlation between corruption rates and budget deficits across the EU, particularly in Greece and Italy.

The estimated cost of corruption cited in the report amounts to nearly one-third the proposed EU budget for 2014-2020.