How effective is the work against corruption – really?

Insights|June 10, 2025

One year into the new national action plan against corruption and undue influence, it is time to ask: Have the proposed measures made a real difference? And have they helped reverse Sweden’s decline in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index?

Shortly after Almedalen in 2024, the Swedish government launched its new National Action Plan against Corruption and Undue Influence. The stated goal is to strengthen the integrity of public administration – especially in light of the increasing threat posed by organised crime. The plan includes several measures, among others to reducing the risk of conflicts of interest and undue influence.

Transparency International Sweden (TI Sweden) welcomed the inclusion of seven out of nine proposals we previously recommended following Sweden’s first national anti-corruption plan, published in December 2020. That initial action plan lacked both concrete actions and clear proposals. In that sense, the new plan marks a step in the right direction.

At the same time, Sweden has seen a steady decline over the past decade in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index – the global ranking that scores countries based on perceived levels of public sector corruption. From a relatively strong score of 89, out of hundred possible, in 2015, Sweden has slipped down to 80 points in 2024. Although still among the top performers, Sweden is now at risk of becoming the lowest-ranked country in the Nordic region. Minister for Public Administration Erik Slottner has rightly called this decline a “failure.”

In addition, Sweden has received serious criticism from the OECD for failing to comply with the Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions, i.e. foreign bribery. This criticism is hardly surprising. The Swedish government – regardless of party – has failed to implement the recommended reforms first issued in 2012. TI Sweden has also raised the issue on several occasions. The continued lack of preventive measures raises a critical question: Is there sufficient political will to address corruption effectively? There are some positive steps taken in this area – a review of the criminal law on corruption and misconduct will be presented later this summer and a proposal on a revised party funding legislation as well as the introduction of a lobby register was recently handed over to the Government by a Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry

Can the new action plan break the negative trend in the Corruption Perceptions index? Will it be able to address the international criticism? What other measures are needed, and which actors are responsible for reversing the trend?

On 27 June, we welcome the Minister for Public Administration Erik Slottner to join us in Almedalen for an open discussion on transparency, integrity, and accountability in the fight against corruption. The talk will be moderated by Ulrik Åshuvud, Secretary General, TI Sweden.

This article is written by TI Sweden as a part of our partnership at House of Many Voices Almedalen edition. Read more here.