Hungary: Challenges in Organized Crime, Corruption, and Social Protection
Organized Crime
Hungary faces medium risk in money laundering and terrorist financing due to inadequate use of financial intelligence by law enforcement. This creates an environment where multinational corporations are discouraged from investing due to a lack of transparency and predictability.
- Informal economy is significant and discourages financial investments
- Excessive red tape and preferential treatment for Hungarian and government-linked firms
Corruption
Corruption poses a significant risk to businesses, particularly in the tax administration and public procurement sectors. Companies often report that unofficial payments are necessary to resolve administrative tasks, and public procurement is vulnerable to irregularities at the local level.
- Corruption prevalent in tax administration and public procurement
- Unofficial payments sometimes necessary to resolve administrative tasks
Social Protection
Victim assistance services in Hungary remain scarce, uncoordinated, and inadequate, exposing victims to the risk of re-victimization. The government has introduced new provisions on the protection of witnesses and victims, but a transparent framework and resources are needed to regulate foreign-national labor recruitment effectively.
- Victim assistance services scarce and inadequate
- Government introduced provisions for witness and victim protection
Human Rights
Hungary’s measures to prevent organized crime have stagnated in recent years. While multiple awareness and preventive measures are in place, including law enforcement-implemented awareness campaigns geared towards children, funding for the related national action plan has been reduced.
- Measures to prevent organized crime stagnant
- Funding for national action plan reduced
Media Landscape
The media landscape in Hungary is increasingly concentrated in the hands of oligarchs allied with the government. The ruling party has seized de facto control of 80% of the country’s media through political-economic maneuvers.
- Media landscape concentrated in hands of oligarchs
- Ruling party controls majority of media