The European Commission says corruption in Europe is "breathtaking" and costs the EU economy at least 120 billion euros annually.
EU Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmstroem. Photo: AFP (file)
Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmstroem said the true cost of corruption was "probably much higher" than 120 billion.
Three-quarters of Europeans surveyed for the Commission study said that corruption was widespread, and more than half said the level had increased.
"The extent of the problem in Europe is breathtaking, although Sweden is among the countries with the least problems," Ms Malmstroem wrote in Goeteborgs-Posten, a Swedish daily.
The cost to the EU economy is equivalent to the bloc's annual budget.
For the report the Commission studied corruption in all 28 EU member states. The Commission says it is the first time it has done such a survey.
In Croatia, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Romania and Greece, between 6% - 29% of respondents said they had been asked for a bribe, or had been expected to pay one, in the past 12 months.
The BBC reports there were also high levels of bribery in Poland (15%), Slovakia (14%) and Hungary (13%).
Ms Malmstroem said corruption was eroding trust in democracy and draining resources from the legal economy.
"The political commitment to really root out corruption seems to be missing," she complained.
