Romanian PM launches national anti-corruption fight

BUCHAREST, Romania – Romania’s prime minister is launching a national anti-corruption strategy in a bid to crack down on widespread corruption that plagues every walk of life in Romania.

Premier Dacian Ciolos said Tuesday he was “thinking about ‘the gift’ we slip under the counter … the money we put in the medic’s pocket,” laying out the strategy that he said required “integrity, transparency, education.”

Ciolos said it would take years to root out corruption in Romania. He urged managers to be more transparent, and ordinary people to take a stand, saying passivity and indifference harms the anti-corruption fight.

Romania has cracked down on high-level corruption in recent years. However graft remains widespread, in the health care system, education and local administration.

Medics and teachers argue corruption would end if salaries were raised.