Political corruption

The institution of protected witnesses works everywhere in the democratic world as a tool to clear up cases of corruption and organized crime. In Greece, it was used by the previous government as a weapon of slander against its opponents, leading to its degeneration. 

Nothing can really be regarded as "news" when it comes to corruption. Corruption is so ubiquitous, that nothing comes as a surprise anymore, nothing shocks us. From scrap metal thieves to sundry suspect circles lining their pockets with European Union funding, the list has now grown with the addition of a racket operating inside the Catholic Church of Greece.

A doctor at a public hospital in Thessaloniki in northern Greece has been handed a 10-month suspended prison sentence for accepting bribes from patients. The Three-Member Misdemeanor Court of Thessaloniki found him guilty of bribery, with the court recognizing his previously clean record as a mitigating factor.

No part of the public sector can be impervious to corruption. What is always required, however, is to have strict rules and channels through which citizens can report any abuse of power or illegalities committed by its employees.

It seems that progress has been made in this field, as the crime rings that abuse their power are exposed and brought to justice.

A Thessaloniki criminal court has acquitted 17 former patients and their relatives on charges of paying bribes to a cardiologist.

A staggering nine out of 10 Greeks believe there is extensive corruption in the country's National Health System (ESY), according to the special Eurobarometer that surveyed citizens from February 7 to March 3 regarding corruption in the European Union.

A total of 1,002 Greek citizens and 26,411 people from the countries of the European Union participated.

A series of mobile applications now give citizens the ability to directly report any illegality that personally affects them, or that they find in the public space.

These channels are already producing remarkable results. The culture, which until recently accused anyone who did not tolerate antisocial behavior of being a snitch, is changing. 

The trial of an employee at the Single Social Security Entity (EFKA) accused of bribery has been deferred to November 14 after appearing in an Athens court on Saturday. 

The 49-year-old EFKA employee is accused of pressuring a 56-year-old woman to pay 4,000 euros in order to secure a disability allowance for her mother. 

An employee of the Single Social Security Entity (EFKA) accused of bribery was suspended from duties on Thursday.

The European Commission's report on the rule of law in Bulgaria for the past year highlights a lack of progress in securing effective investigations and a sufficient number of final convictions for high-level corruption. It also points out the need for reforms in the anti-corruption commission.