Prosecutor concerned over Transparency corruption index

Jasmina Paunovic, a prosecutor with the Higher Public Prosecution in Belgrade, told the Beta news agency that the drop should be viewed as alarming because it affects both living standards and the survival of the state of law as well as all kinds of liberties and the country’s future.

According to her, “corruption is spreading to every pore of society and has escalated over the past 12 years under the current authorities”, adding that the latest example is the collapse of the concrete awning at Novi Sad Railway Station which “definitely laid bare the entire pyramidal structure of corruption in Serbia”.

“Serbia’s drop on the corruption perception list should not be viewed as a simple number of coincidence but should be seen as linked to the situation simmering over the past 30 years when systemic corruption from the top of the state downwards appeared strikingly,” she said.

Transparency International released its latest CPI which showed that Serbia dropped one place and that it has been steadily dropping on the list since 2016.