Lisbon, Feb. 12, 2026 (Lusa) - Transparency International Portugal (TIP) on Wednesday contested the Ministry of Justice's statements on the assessment of anti-corruption policies in Portugal and criticised the absence of a new National Anti-Corruption Strategy (ENAC), which should already be in place.
In a statement regarding the Ministry of Justice's (MJ) reaction to the national results of the 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index, TIP rejects claims that the Anti-Corruption Agenda, one of the government's flagship measures, already contains an assessment of ENAC 2020-2024 in its technical report.
"A full reading of this report does not provide any evidence (proof) of a structured, methodologically identifiable assessment of the results of ENAC 2020-2024. What the report describes is essentially a process of political and institutional dialogue, relevant and desirable in a democracy, involving parties, public entities, and civil society organisations. This consultation exercise, although commendable, should not be confused with an impact assessment," the organisation said.
According to TIP, for the Ministry of Justice to be able to talk about the evaluation of anti-corruption policies, there would have to be "clear identification of quantifiable objectives and targets from the previous strategy, implementation and outcome indicators; comparative analysis between planned targets and achieved results; identification of constraints, implementation failures and good practices; and technical conclusions that could inform future policy options."
TIP argued that "none of this is explained in the report cited by the Government as the basis for the alleged assessment."
Recalling the public commitment to draw up a new ENAC for the period 2025-2028, as contained in the Anti-Corruption Agenda presented by the MJ itself, TIP regretted that, so far, no proposal, timetable, or implementation process is known.
"The absence of this new strategy — already well into the period it should cover — raises doubts about the fulfilment of the commitments made and the consistency between political discourse and government action," argues TIP.
Stating that the fight against corruption "requires rigour, transparency and strategic consistency over time", the organisation also says that international indicators "continue to pose challenges" to the perception of corruption in Portugal, and therefore considers it essential that the Government publish the "detailed assessment" of ENAC 2020-2024, clarify the timetable for the approval of the next strategy, say that participation and transparency will be ensured in future measures, as well as concrete, measurable and scrutinisable commitments.
"In an area so sensitive to the quality of our democracy, it is important to ensure that the commitments made are translated into concrete instruments, defined in a timely manner and publicly scrutinisable," says TIP.
In response to the 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index released this week, the Ministry of Justice stated that Portugal's decline in the ranking does not yet reflect the reforms underway and rejects the fact that ENAC 2020-2024 has not been evaluated.
The Corruption Perceptions Index for 2025, an annual indicator from Transparency International that assesses the perception of corruption in the public sector in more than 180 countries, points to a decline for Portugal, which falls to 46th place in the ranking, with 56 points, the country's worst ever score, even though it is only one point lower than the previous year's ranking.
In an analysis of the national results of the index, TIP president José Fontão pointed to a correlation between rising perceptions of corruption and the growth of populist rhetoric attacking institutions, in line with what is happening in other European countries with which Portugal compares itself.
He questioned "what will be done to prevent this", given the impact that these levels of perception have on people's lives, investment, perceptions of justice and other development indicators.
He called on the political powers to take action, namely to strengthen institutions such as the National Anti-Corruption Mechanism (MENAC), to evaluate policies and legislation, and to put an end to "isolated measures", which should be replaced by a "long-term strategy", something that depends solely on "political will".
IMA/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
