Foreword

Hungary is taking steps to improve the rule of law, a key part of which is the development of a new strategic approach to combatting corruption and fostering public integrity. In the context of the conditionality mechanism triggered by the European Commission and the negotiations over Hungary’s Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP) in 2022, Hungary has developed a draft Medium-Term National Anti-Corruption Strategy for 2023-2025 (NACS) and an Action Plan for its implementation.

This report, which is part of the OECD’s work to measure and evaluate public sector integrity strategies, assesses the draft NACS against the OECD Recommendation on Public Integrity and international good practice.

The NACS presents an opportunity for the Government of Hungary to reassess its integrity framework and, through setting clear objectives and strong, measurable actions, to see tangible improvements in its ability to combat corruption across all levels of government and wider society.

The report analyses the form and content of the NACS and makes proposals for improvement. It assesses how Hungary could strengthen problem analysis to understand the corruption challenges it faces; suggests how strategic objectives could be set and prioritised; makes recommendations for setting clear, measurable actions; and draws upon the OECD’s Public Integrity Indicators to propose an effective monitoring and evaluation process for the strategy. By implementing these recommendations and learning from the experiences of its peers, Hungary can lay a strong foundation for this and future strategies and continue to build a resilient integrity framework.

The report was reviewed by the OECD Working Party of Senior Public Integrity Officials (SPIO) on 30 June 2023. It was approved by the Public Governance Committee on 23 October 2023 and prepared for publication by the OECD Secretariat.