Anti-corruptiecampagne van start in Roemenië (en)

Transparency International has started a campaign against corruption in Romania under the slogan "don't bribe!"

Launched together with other NGOs and the EU, the campaign mainly targets the young and is publicised via a TV programme and webpage along with various shows in 13 towns in Romania.

The organisers are producing leaflets and files about corruption in the country setting out what a bribe is and assessing its impact on society.

The campaign will also show how much of household budgets go on small everyday bribes.

The money comes from the EU programme, PHARE.

One of the main aims is to explain that bribes are an unnecessary sum of money given to employees in public administrations who are already paid via taxes paid by Romanian citizens.

Some of the organisers say that the aim of the campaign is to prove that taking a bribe is stealing.

Corruption - the big fish

Corruption touches all levels of society in Romania and is one of the outstanding problems the country still faces as it prepares itself for EU membership - set to be in 2007.

The EU brings the issue up in all talks with Romania. Corruption was also the subject of a very critical report by the European Parliament earlier this year, which called into question Bucharest's ability to achieve their stated goal of joining the EU by 2007.

Enlargement EU commissioner Günter Verheugen said twice this year already that Romania should attack the big problem of corruption - "the big fish" as he put it.

Romania had already developed a national anti-corruption plan mainly targeting small-time corruption.

However, the government's strategy has been shown by Transparency International Romania not to have been very efficient - particularly regarding political corruption.

In a study published this year by the organisation, it explained that many of the decisions put on paper have not yet been implemented, leaving Romania still among the most corrupt countries in the world.