The Central and Eastern Europe wave includes assessments for 15 countries.
The Index finds more than half of the countries assessed in the region face a high risk of corruption in their defence and security sectors. Here are some highlights on this region's results:- Average score for the region is 48/100.
- Montenegro is judged to be at ‘very high’ risk with a score of 32, while Azerbaijan’s score of just 15 places it in the ‘critical’ risk category.
- High levels of transparency see Latvia fare the best in the region, with a score of 67 indicating a low risk of corruption.
- Authoritarian governments have weakened parliamentary oversight (Poland) and restricted access to information regimes (Hungary), closing off a key sector off from public debate and oversight.
"Recent years have seen the beginning of structural reforms in Ukraine’s defence sector, especially in procurement and state-owned enterprises. However, corruption risk remains high; new approaches require implementation, independent parliamentary oversight needs to be consolidated, and corruption risks in operations mitigated, especially given continuing operations in the eastern part of the country"