Skopje, 6 September 2021 (MIA) – First Deputy PM and Minister for Political System and Community Relations, Artan Grubi, told Monday an international conference in Skopje that corruption poses the biggest threat to the economy, not the coronavirus pandemic. The basis of economic recovery, Grubi added, is the battle against organized crime and corruption. Corruption, he says, is a virus worse than Covid. “We have to start reporting corruption, today. We’re not talking about propaganda or unfounded partisan accusations, we’re talking about real, factual situations and cases. We need to form a coalition – the Government, NGOs, business community, academia, we should all unite against corruption,” Grubi said. According to him, the rule of law is necessary as well. “Corruption is our greatest enemy and a threat to the growth of all economies, societies and democracies. It undermines the credibility of the institutions and processes. It’s a virus even worse than Covid when it comes to recovery, growth and development of the economy. We have to build a climate of personal and institutional integrity, ethical behavior on a personal and institutional level. But without sustainable rule of law we can’t have credible institutions and the public can’t trust the system. Institutions without credibility mean a lack of public trust that leads to selective, corrupt justice, and then we don’t have stable investments and a stable business climate. This leads to a replacement of the judicial system in the easiest way, through bribes to get the job done,” the deputy PM said. According to him, all current challenges such as Covid, Afghanistan, China, Russia, 5G, the Middle East, come from corruption. Grubi pointed out that corruption costs EU member states EUR 120 million, and 20-25% of contracts involve corruption as well. dk/ik