We began the day with a presentation on ‘Corruption and transparency Estonian situation’ by Mahis Mets, Head of the Western Division from the Estonian Corruption Bureau. It was a very interesting presentation on the the key types of corruption within the society. He shared may cases of classic bribery and other ways people got there way in public organizations. He particularly spoke upon the matters regarding the public services rather than private organizations as the rules for each type differed. The presentation opened up many conversations and we were able to learn about multiple cases of Corruption, not only in Estonia but also in Macedonia and Spain. We were also able to share our own experiences coming from the UK. It was interesting to learn that in Estonia if a senior member of a public organization wanted to help out family to get a job it is illegal, however it was okay for them to help a friend.

We then had a short tea break.

After the tea break we had a discussion on the ‘EU influence on transparency’ lead my Hande Demir from Spain. In this activity we discussed the CPI (Corruption Perception Index), which is an index that compares the level of corruption amongst 176 countries. Each country is rated in a scale of 0 -100. 0 being the most corrupt and 100 being completely clean of corruption. I was surprised to learn that Denmark was the 1st country on the list with a rating of 90, and Somalia was the most corrupted country with the rating of 10. Although Somalia has the lowest rating it is increasing as it was 4 in the last index. We also saw the ratings for the participating countries. The ratings are listed below in order of place in the index and with the rating.

• 10th position – UK (81)
• 22nd position – Estonia (70)
• 41st position – Spain (58)
• 75th position – Turkey (41)
• 90th position – Macedonia (37)

After this activity we had short energizer and split into 4 groups and discussed key questions related to corruption. The questions are as follows.

• Why do you think the system is corrupt?
• How can you reduce corruption?
• How much corruption do you think that is in your country?
• What businesses have the most corruption in your country?

After we discussed each topic and made a poster, we then presented our thoughts and ideas with the other groups.
This was an interesting discussion as we learned about the similarities and differences across the countries. I also learned that regardless of the country you come from, there will always be corruption, and this is proven by the fact that no county received 100 in the ratings.

Then we went for lunch.

After lunch we came back and concluded the first part of this project. We evaluated, summarized and concluded the past three days. We also discussed briefly the plans for the next part if this project that will be held in the UK.

This project has been a really great experience for me. I have learned a great deal about Euroscepticism and the democracy within Estonia, Macedonia and Spain. It was great meeting the other participants and getting to know their cultures better.