“The large volume of foreign investment proves that foreign enterprises are satisfied with the Hungarian decision-making system”, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said on Monday in Budapest.
At the initiative of the State Audit Office, the Government has concluded an agreement with the International Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) and its Development Initiative (IDI) in the interests of fighting corruption.
At the event organised to mark the announcement of the agreement, Mr. Szijjártó said that if a decision-making system includes slow and dishonest elements of corrupt behaviour, it will result in poor foreign trade performance. If German, American and Asian enterprises experienced such a system here, would they really realise their investments in Hungary, the Minister asked. Foreign investment proves that we are working successfully, he pointed out.
Hungary’s success primarily requires its foreign relations to be successful, because in Hungary’s extremely open economy exports and foreign investment have a significant influence on economic success, the Foreign Minister explained adding that the success of investments and export is, however, impeded by slowness and by dishonest and corrupt behaviour. In his view the two factors are connected, because the slower the decision-making process, the greater the opportunity for corrupt behaviour, Mr. Szijjártó stated.
2015 was about broken Hungarian foreign trade records with a never before seen level of Hungarian exports and a record-breaking foreign trade surplus, the Minister stressed, adding that 67 successful investment projects had been negotiated last year and the foreign investments leading to the creation of the most jobs are related to German, American, Chinese, Indian and Japanese companies.
Mr. Szijjártó also stressed the importance of cooperation with the State Audit Office. The Government agrees with the strategy of the initiative they have agreed to fund and the new agreement brings Hungary up to a par with, amongst others, the United States, Norway and Ireland, he stated.
President of the State Audit Office László Domokos declared that corruption was an “insidious disease” that affected the whole world and against which the most effective action was cooperation. Based on the State Audit Office’s professional recommendation, the Hungarian Government has decided to provide 129 million forints (EUR 420,000) in funding to support the INTOSAI Development Initiative’s fight against corruption. The sum corresponds to the Office’s operative savings from 2014.
Mr. Domokos stressed that Hungary is committed to fighting corruption and the State Audit Office is the catalyst of national anti-corruption activities in which, in addition to the State Audit Office itself, the Curia, the Office of the Prosecutor General, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Interior and the National Office for the Judiciary have also taken part since 2011.
Thanks to the agreement, the Hungarian Government is now not only providing major support to the anti-corruption programme via the professional experience of the State Audit Office and its partners, but also financially. The task of the State Audit Office is to assure a preventive effect via the enforcement of the two most important principles relating to the use of public monies, namely transparency and accountability, which in turn reduces corruption, Mr. Domokos explained.
In his speech, Minister of Interior Sándor Pintér spoke about the fact that every government throughout the world has recognised that corruption causes severe economic damage, destroys public confidence and democratic values, and is a substrate for crime. It is like a cancer that spreads through the body and destroys everything from the inside, he said. In 2010, the new government made fighting corruption a priority and announced a policy of zero tolerance, the Minister said, highlighting the prominent role of the State Audit Office in the fight against corruption.
According to Eurobarometer, one of the greatest decreases in corruption within the European Union occurred in Hungary, with a 10 percent reduction, which is a significant achievement, Mr. Pintér declared. Among the successes achieved so far, the Minister highlighted the new system of issuing road traffic fines in which offences are captured on camera and fines are issued electronically without human intervention. Similarly, the reorganisation of the road toll system enables payment of tolls without the need for a clerk or cashier, which also rules out the possibility of corruption, he added.
Among tasks for the future, the Minister of Interior listed the further development of information technology systems and the review of procedural regulations at all state bodies, indicating that the Government was also planning to introduce a five-year rotation for the auditors of state-owned companies.
Director-General of the INTOSAI Development Initiative Einar Gørrissen spoke about the fact that the goal of the project, which Hungary is now also funding, is to create the fairest possible society in developing countries. Good government requires a strong and independent supreme audit institution with suitable capacities. But in many developing countries, such institutions face huge challenges and are often not afforded enough independence to enable them to perform their duties, he explained.
Mr, Gørrissen welcomed the support of the Hungarian State Audit Office and declared that thanks to the new agreement, Hungary is now the biggest supporter of the project.
Parallel to the event, the State Audit Office has organised a four-day anti-corruption seminar with the participation of some forty audit institution experts from more than twenty countries.