The European Quality of Government Index (EQI), 2017 edition, developed by the Quality of Government Institute of Gothenburg University, is the only measure of institutional quality available at the regional level in the European Union. Institutional quality is defined as a multi-dimensional concept consisting of high impartiality and quality of public service delivery, along with low corruption. Funded by the European Commission in 2010 and then again in 2013 and 2017, the EQI aims at capturing average citizens’ perceptions and experiences with corruption, and the extent to which they rate their public services as impartial and of good quality in their region of residence.

Three editions of the index are now available to show improvement or decline over time. Although a relatively stability in quality of government can be noted across the three editions, the old dividing lines in quality of government, between Northern and Southern Europe but also between Western and Eastern Europe, seem to be slowly blurring. Divergences in quality of government are not as stark in 2017 as they were in 2010.

European Quality of Government Index 2017