Corruption evidently halts Moldova’s integration into the EU. The country lags behind in preventing corruption in the education system, private sector, the judiciary and in ensuring transparency in decision-making. Opinions on the issue were expressed Thursday in the sixth National Anticorruption Conference “Progress and Prospects in Combating Corruption”, Info-Prim Neo reports. Iurie Rechicinschi, the head of the Supreme Security Council’s Service, said that in Moldova corruption is perceived as the giving and taking of bribes. This phenomenon diminishes Moldova’s chances of becoming part of the EU and represents a violation of the moral not only legal norms. According to Iurie Rechicinschi, Moldova must remove the useless stipulations from the legislation so that the laws on corruption are clear and allow combating this phenomenon. The head of the Center for Combating Corruption and Economic Crime Viorel Chetraru said the people believe the authorities fight corruption only formally, while the law enforcement bodies take superficial actions. Galina Bostan, the head of the group for monitoring the anticorruption actions for 2010, said a number of measures have been taken to eradicate corruption. According to her, Article 55 of the Penal Code should be reviewed so that it applies to cases of corruption investigated according to criminal judicial practices. The law on public procurement should be also modified. Udo Burkholder, the head of the EU Border Assistance Mission to Moldova and Ukraine, said the eradication of corruption depends on the Government, which must represent the people, not be a refuge for corrupt functionaries. Corruption is deep-rooted in institutions that work badly. The National Anticorruption Conference “Progress and Prospects in Combating Corruption” was held on the occasion of the International Anti-Corruption Day that is marked on December 9. Moldova takes the 108th position out of 178 countries in the Corruption Perception Index, with the same score as in 2008.