Corruption is a problem in Greece. Transparency International stated in 2012 that corruption had played a major role in causing the Greek financial crisis (although the crisis itself was triggered by the global financial crisis of 2007-2008, and Greece's economy had fared well for most of the period up to the aforementioned crisis ). Tax evasion was described by Greek politicians as "a national sport"—with up to €30 billion per year going uncollected, according to a 2012 estimate. A 2016 estimate indicated that between €11 billion and €16 billion per annum were not collectable. Other significant amounts were uncollected due to VAT (sales tax) fraud and smuggling. In 2016, the OECD, Greece and the European Commission launched a project to increase integrity and reduce corruption in Greece t