Bridges to Nowhere: State Capture and Corruption Risks in Fiscal Transfers and Public Procurement at the Local Level in Southeast Europe

The third SEE Good Governance Report, published in November 2023 under the R2G4P project, analyses the risks entailed by the misuse of fiscal transfers from central to local governments in nine SEE countries: Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Romania, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia.

The report looks into the legal, institutional, and procedural improvements needed to prevent and tackle state capture and corruption risks in fiscal transfers and pork barrelling from the central towards the local level, and the ensuing public procurement in Southeast Europe (SEE). The report summarizes the key conclusions and policy recommendations from R2G4P’s work in 2023.

The authors of the report are:

Daniela Mineva, Senior Analyst, Economic Program, Center for the Study of Democracy

Dr. Tihomira Kostova, Senior Analyst, Economic Program, Center for the Study of Democracy

Dr. Mihály Fazekas, Scientific Director, Government Transparency Institute and Central European University

Viktoriia Poltoratskaia, Senior Analyst, Government Transparency Institute and Central European University

The R2GP4 project, coordinated by the Center for the Study of Democracy, Bulgaria benefits from a € 1.5 million grant from Iceland, Lichtenstein and Norway through the ЕЕА and Norway Grants Fund for Regional Cooperation. The aim of the project is to implement shared anti-corruption and good governance solutions in Southeast Europe through innovative practices and public-private partnerships.

Download the report: HERE