86% of Spanish companies believe that corruption is a common practice, according to the Eurobarometer

Favors to friends and family, the practices that most concern

MADRID, 1 Sep. (EUROPA PRESS) -

86% of Spanish companies consider that corruption is a common practice in the country, compared to an average of 63% of companies in the Member States of the European Union (EU), according to the Eurobarometer carried out by Ipsos for the European Commission .

According to the data from the study, Spain is the seventh country in the bloc in which the perception of corruption by companies is highest, only surpassed by Croatia (93%), Cyprus (92%), Italy (92 %), Greece (90%), Romania (88%) and Bulgaria (87%).

Regarding the most common type of corruption, national firms consider that favors given to friends and relatives in the public sphere is the most common form, with 57%, while the EU average on this problem stands at 46 %.

The second most widespread corrupt practice would be the financing of political parties in exchange for favors in tenders or influence over political decisions, with 47%, compared to 38% on average in the EU. This is followed by the practice of private companies favoring friends and relatives (46% compared to 48% in the EU).

For Spanish companies, another common form of corruption is the offering of gifts (19%), a more popular practice in Europe, where the percentage rises to 28%.

"Although in reality it is something that does not seem to happen as much as is thought, since only 5% of companies in Spain and 4% in Europe say they have been in the situation of having received gifts, favors or extra money for obtaining permits or services," says the study.

The Eurobarometer also points out that there is a general perception in the EU that corruption is not sufficiently punished, an opinion that increases in the case of Spain.

"While 42% of European companies think that people and businesses caught in petty corruption receive an appropriate punishment, in Spain that percentage drops to 28%. Although half (53%) do support the idea that people and companies involved in corruption crimes would be prosecuted and go to trial, 66% think it would be unlikely that they would receive heavy fines or be imprisoned," the study concludes.

Along these lines, the feeling of impunity in Spain increases when it comes to bribing high-ranking officials because in Europe a third of companies consider that the people and businesses involved in these practices would receive an appropriate punishment, while in Spain that figure drops to 11%.

The study also points out that, on average in the EU countries, 34% of companies declare that corruption is one of the difficulties they encounter in operating, a percentage that in Spain rises to 58%.

This data places Spain in the sixth position in the ranking of the 27 EU countries in which corruption is most pointed out as a problem for doing business, only surpassed by Cyprus (78%), Greece (75%), Romania (70%), Croatia (66%) and Bulgaria (62%).

"Although it is true that there are other problems above corruption that are most mentioned by (Spanish) companies in this regard: tax rates (69%), eight points above the European figure; complex administrative procedures (65% ); the absence of means or procedures to recover debt from third parties (61%) and the rapid change of laws (60%), "adds the report.

The Eurobarometer conducted by Ipsos at the request of the European Commission conducted interviews between April 4 and April 22, 2022 among EU companies employing one or more people in the following sectors: energy, mining, oil and gas , chemical products, health and pharmaceuticals, engineering and electronics, motor vehicles, construction and building, telecommunications and information technologies, financial services, banking and investment.

"The interviews were conducted with a person with decision-making responsibility (managing director, general director, CEO, financial director), someone who directed commercial activities (commercial director, sales director, marketing director) or a responsible legal", details Ipsos on the methodology of the study.