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The “National Defence Strategy for the Country for the Period 2025-2030”, recently adopted by Parliament, considers that a major vulnerability for Romania’s national security is corruption. It constitutes a serious risk for national security, as it weakens state institutions, affects the economy and erodes citizens’ trust in each other and in the democratic political system.

Although it does not have a universally valid definition, the term “corruption” designates a deviation from morality and duty, and is legally defined by several offenses provided for by criminal law. Thus, in a broad sense, corruption is the expression of a vicious relationship between authorities and citizens, in which the public position or function is used discretionarily, by resorting to illicit or illegal means, in order to obtain personal or group interests. In doing so, authorities and citizens influence each other negatively, perpetuating harmful patterns of action. In Romanian legislation, the general meaning of the term corruption is concretized by defining several crimes: bribery, influence peddling, embezzlement, abuse of office, receiving undue benefits and similar ones. Beyond definitions, corruption is a complex phenomenon, which seriously affects society, the economy and democracy.

In the literature on this phenomenon, a distinction is made between “grand corruption” and “petty corruption”. These forms are differentiated, mainly, by the level at which they occur, the financial value involved and the general impact on the economy and society. Grand corruption is associated with high-level positions and major decision-makers in government, public administration and politics. Petty corruption manifests itself at the level of daily interactions between citizens and lower-level civil servants, in sectors such as health, education, police or local administration.

Depending on its extent, corruption has serious effects on public finances, as it reduces state tax revenues and forces authorities to forgo the purchase of necessary goods and services and investments. The real cost of corruption, however, is greater than the value of uncollected tax revenues, as it distorts public spending priorities and prevents authorities from acting to achieve sustainable and inclusive economic growth. Public funds are diverted from education, health, infrastructure construction and maintenance, etc. – that is, from investments that could improve economic performance and raise the standard of living of the population.

Corruption reduces public revenues primarily by reducing the ability of authorities to collect taxes/fiscal duties fairly and efficiently. Because they allow themselves to be bribed, legislators grant tax exemptions or invent other legal loopholes, through which the state gives up some of its revenues in the name of “noble” causes. And the more complicated the tax regime, the easier it is for public officials to manage it at their discretion and to receive bribes or undue benefits for favourable treatment of problematic situations. Examples of this kind abound in the Romanian media, which shows that the phenomenon of corruption exists everywhere, from public institutions to the health system. As a general practice, circumventing tax legislation and corrupting public officials erodes public trust in the state and discourages honest citizens from paying their taxes.

The fight against corruption is beneficial for public finances. According to some estimates, “the maximum value of losses from corruption, including the economic opportunity cost (everything Romania lost by missing favourable opportunities), is 15% of GDP, i.e. no less than 45 billion euros per year” (Ștefan Liiceanu, Un atlas al corupției România – 20 de ani de hoție, studiu de caz, Editura Humanitas, București, 2024). Although it has developed several anti-corruption strategies and has strengthened its institutional capacity to a certain extent, Romania scores 46 points out of a possible 100 in the “Corruption Perceptions Index 2024” calculated by “Transparency International”. This score is well below the EU average and places Romania in the category of countries with unacceptably low scores, below 50 points, which reflects high corruption in the public sector.

Although corruption is so widespread that, in his speech on this year’s National Day (December 1, 2025), the President of Romania declared that it is “a corrupt country,” the phenomenon is particularly evident in some key areas.

One such area is that of natural resources, especially mining, oil, and forestry. Bribes are used to obtain extraction licenses, avoid environmental regulations, and hide real income. Economic activity in these sectors is very profitable, which encourages those already active in the field and who want to expand their businesses to bribe dignitaries and civil servants. It can even lead to state capture by “rent-seekers” – a situation in which public laws and policies are used to control the country’s natural wealth. Romania has some important natural resources, which predisposes those wishing to invest in these sectors to resort to bribing public officials to obtain preferential treatment, government contracts, permits or favourable inspections. The temptation is amplified by the fact that the public institutions involved are weak and unaccountable.

Corruption is also widespread in state-owned enterprises, whose managers are vulnerable to pressure from civil servants and elected officials who appointed and maintain them in office. According to information on corruption in Romania, contained in a large number of official reports, journalistic investigations and criminal cases, corruption in state-owned enterprises manifests itself in the embezzlement of public funds, lack of transparency, flawed public procurement procedures, conflict of interest, improper use of European funds, etc. This form of corruption constitutes a true systemic problem, as it combines the effects of economic inefficiency, specific to the state economic sector, with vulnerabilities to financial abuse. To address this problem, Romania has established an agency to monitor the performance of public enterprises and has attempted to implement corporate governance principles. However, cronyism and “interim” appointments to the management of state-owned companies remain common.

Another sensitive area is public procurement of goods and services. The main enabling factor is the large sums of money at stake; in Romania, public procurement accounted for approximately 19% of GDP in 2023, with a total value exceeding 90 billion euros. In these circumstances, state orders for investment are particularly vulnerable, as large investment projects have specific characteristics that make it difficult to compare expenditures and make it easier to hide bribes and overstate costs. Therefore, grand corruption is usually linked to complex and expensive projects, such as public works, and more recently, it seems, to the purchase of defence equipment.

By comparison, it is harder to receive bribes from teachers or health workers, whose salaries have historically been below the national average. However, objective data from studies and reports confirm that the phenomenon of informal payments and bribery has a significant presence in both sectors, although the manifestations may differ. Thus, in the health system, informal payments (“attentions” or “gratuity payments”) are a persistent and widespread problem, often perceived by citizens as a common practice or necessary to ensure quality services, although they are illegal. In the education system, bribery can occur in various forms, including favouritism in exams, forced tutoring or promotion arrangements.

In Romania, public spending on health and education is relatively low, which compromises the chances of improving the productivity and living standards of the population. Total spending on education represented, in 2024, about 4.2% of GDP, and spending on health, about 5.7% of GDP; these values ​​place Romania in the last places among the member states of the European Union.

It is not surprising then that national exam results tend to be weaker. Even though Romanian students spend the same amount of time in class compared to other countries, the quality of education is weaker, not only because the resources allocated to education are comparatively smaller, but also because the filling of teaching positions is often based on “connections”. Private tutoring is also a widespread practice, and there is a thin line between legitimate economic activity and small-scale corruption. A recent report by the Minister of Education and Research shows that private tutoring can unduly affect the educational process.

The fight against corruption is very complex, but it is beneficial from many points of view. If Romania manages to significantly reduce this phenomenon, it will be rewarded by increasing public revenues from taxes and fees. The statement is supported by all existing economic studies and analyses, which show that the success of the fight against corruption requires political will, perseverance and improving the activity of the institutions involved.

In addition to strengthening national institutions, international cooperation is also important. Through this prism, it is significant that over 40 countries have criminalized bribes paid by their companies to obtain contracts abroad and that many countries sanction money laundering, terrorist financing and the transfer of funds derived from corruption to opaque financial centres abroad.

The fight against corruption is difficult, but it is essential for restoring citizens' trust in each other, in the state and in democracy, as well as for significantly improving the economic and social situation. This battle begins with the political will to combat corruption and continues with the strengthening of national anti-corruption institutions and cooperation with other states, primarily those in the European Union.

Photo source: PxHere.com.