Portugal’s minister of economy said on Wednesday that an Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) report – which hasn’t yet been released – was a “very negative” external sign, as it said corruption was one of the national economy’s main problems, putting Portugal at the same position as countries like Nigeria or Iraq.
Pedro Siza Vieira said during a parliamentary hearing that the information he has about the OECD’s report would be published soon and that it identified corruption as a structural factor in the deterioration of Portuguese competitiveness.
Siza Vieira added that it was important to combat corruption in “all circumstances” but that identifying the problem of corruption as a factor of degradation of the Portuguese economy was taking attention away from important matters, like difficulty in obtaining capital, the qualification of human resources and low saving account rates.
He said he was disappointed in the OECD saying that corruption was the country’s main problem.
