The Special Investigations Service of Lithuania is working with the Young Physicians’ Association in a campaign to promote transparency by encouraging dialogue between physicians and their patients. Information booths will be used in the country’s hospitals and clinics. Specifically the goal is to discourage bribery, which was known to be rampant in Soviet times.
Research by the Service shows that bribes have mostly been expected in hospitals and clinics for surgical and nursing care. The campaign called “To give or not to give?” stresses the negative impact of bribes, which are still prevalent. Patients may claim that giving a bribe is a sign of gratitude, yet it is actually an incentive for quicker service or more attention from their physician. A bribe diminishes the trust between a patient and his or her doctor, and can be humiliating for the latter.
Considering how low wages have been in Lithuania, the level of corruption may not be surprising. For example, one source states that doctors may earn between 1202 and 3397 euros per month in Lithuania – or from $20,724 to $58,584 CAD annually. A quick search of the internet reveals that physicians in Canada start at $129,684 per year, and with experience, can make up to $320,144 per year.
The campaign is part of a wider incentive aimed at government, commercial, health care and other workers – “Transparency is in your hands – beat corruption” and encourages everyone to “begin with yourself”.
This year’s Eurobarometer surveys on corruption found that 4 in 10 citizens of the European Union believe that corruption has risen in their country over the past three years, with now over 2/3 (70%) saying that corruption is widespread in their country. This type of corruption is not necessarily restricted to bribery. More than 6 out of 10 (64%) say corruption is unacceptable. The industry agrees: more than 6 in 10 (65%) EU companies think the problem of corruption is “fairly” to “very” widespread in their country. This shows that corruption remains a significant challenge in the eyes of most Europeans.
Only a minority believe that the fight against corruption in their country is effective. Respondents are generally pessimistic about national anti-corruption efforts, and few believe that measures against corruption are applied without ulterior motives (35%). Even less are those who think there are enough prosecutions to deter corrupt practices (32%) or that there is appropriate supervision of political parties’ funding in their country (29%).
Similarly, only a slim majority of companies think it is likely for corrupt individuals to face charges and go to court – 12% said it was “very likely” and 41% “fairly likely”. One in two companies believe that businesses engaging in corruption in their country will be caught or reported, and less than 40% think that they will be heavily fined or imprisoned.
Following the COVID-19 pandemic years, the business world perceives corruption to be growing again. More than 6 in 10 (65%) EU companies think the problem of corruption is “fairly” to “very” widespread in their country. In fact, the percentage of those saying that it is “very widespread” has increased by 4 percentage points (28%) compared to 2022.
Reducing growth, spreading uncertainty, creating additional costs, lowering investment levels – these are only a few of the consequences of corruption on the market. More than 3 out of 4 company managers (78%) also believe that too close links between business and politics lead to corruption in their country. Another 72% agree that favouritism and corruption are hampering business competition.
The Commission has stepped up its efforts on the anti-corruption front. The new measures adopted in May 2023, criminalizing corruption offences and harmonizing penalties across the EU, are expected to enable Member State authorities to prevent and fight corruption more effectively.
