“Transparency International”: Russia is trying to undermine European democracy, mainly through Germany

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In the Transparency International report, Germany is described as the 9th least corrupt country among 180 countries

Russia has been trying for years to undermine European democracy, with Germany as its central target, Transparency International estimates in its annual report on corruption.

Russia “has built a network of influence at the federal and state levels, aided by vast financial resources,” the report said. Examples of this influence include former chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who has been working for Russian energy giants for years, the firm support of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), the creation – with Russian funding – of the climate foundation in Mecklenburg-Pomerania, where the first terminal of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline is located, and the disinformation campaigns. “In this way, Russia managed to influence political decisions, e.g. in the energy policy and to strengthen its geostrategic position”, it is noted in the organization’s report, which speaks of similar risks from Azerbaijan, Qatar and Morocco, countries which, as it is emphasized, “used strategic corruption, in order to exert influence and assert their interests”. Due to its economic and political importance, Germany is one of the main targets of this form of corruption, along with the US and European institutions, the organization explains.

In the report, Germany is described as the 9th least corrupt country out of 180 countries, with Transparency International deputy chief Margarete Bauze noting that in cases such as the supply of protective masks at the start of the pandemic and the Cum-Ex scandal, action by competent authorities have always been “too slow, too hesitant and too little ambitious”. The president of the organization, Alexandra Herzog, for her part, emphasized the need for the parameter of transparency to be included in the national security strategy that the federal government is currently working on.

RES-EMP

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