Romania has lowest score in the EU in EIU's Democracy Index 2018

Romania is ranked 66

th

in the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU)’s Democracy Index 2018, the lowest score for an EU country. The index covers 165 independent states and two territories. The index is based on five categories: electoral process and pluralism; civil liberties; the functioning of government; political participation; and political culture. Based on its scores on a range of indicators within these categories, each country is classified as one of four types of regime: “full democracy”, “flawed democracy”, “hybrid regime” and “authoritarian regime”. Romania had a score of 9.17 for electoral process and pluralism, of 5.71 for the functioning of government; of 5 for political participation, of 4.38 for political culture, and of 7.65 for civil liberties. The country’s score for civil liberties deteriorated after “the implementation in 2018 of several laws that curtail the effectiveness and independence of the judiciary. The chief prosecutor of the National AntiCorruption Directorate (DNA) was also dismissed in 2018 at the request of the minister of justice and against the views of the Superior Council of Magistracy,” the EIU notes. Romania sits alongside other “flawed democracies” in the region that recorded a deterioration, namely Slovakia (ranked 44th), Hungary (ranked 57

th

) and Croatia (ranked 60

th

). The “flawed democracies” that improved were Estonia (ranked 23

rd

), the Czech Republic (ranked 34

th

), Lithuania (ranked 36

th

) and Latvia (ranked 38

th

). Neighboring Bulgaria, which joined the EU at the same time as Romania, is ranked 46

th

. The first ranked in the index is Norway, followed by Iceland, Sweden, New Zealand, Denmark, Canada, Ireland, Finland, Australia, and Switzerland. The index is available here. Reporters Without Borders: Romania’s press freedom in free fall (Photo: Pixabay) editor@romania-insider.com