Hungary : towards a strategic state approach.

152 Pages·2015·3.472 MB·English

by  OECD

OECD Public Governance Reviews
HunGaRy
TOwaRDs a sTRaTEGiC sTaTE aPPROaCH
OECD Public Governance Reviews
Contents
Executive summary HunGaRy
Assessment and recommendations
Chapter 1. Addressing public administration reform in Hungary TOwaRDs a sTRaTEGiC sTaTE aPPROaCH
Chapter 2. Reforming Hungary’s territorial administration
Chapter 3. Reducing administrative burdens in Hungary
Chapter 4. Fighting corruption in Hungary
Annex A. The OECD’s proposal for an Integrity Module for Staff Surveys
Glossary
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42 2014 16 1 P
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OECD Public Governance Reviews
Hungary: Towards
a Strategic State Approach
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3
FOREWORD –

Foreword
Governments need to respond to a widening range of fiscal, economic, social and
political challenges. Responding to these challenges requires a “Strategic State” approach
that emphasises leadership and stewardship from the centre, integrity and transparency,
the importance of networks and institutions (both inside and outside government), the
need to draw inspiration from sub-national initiatives and citizens, and, crucially,
effective implementation of strategies and policies in support of positive outcomes and
impacts for a country’s economy and society. A “Strategic State” can support policies and
programmes for growth and well-being and build trust in the capacity of governments to
deliver for citizens and businesses.
The OECD-Hungary Strategic Partnership for Public Administration Reform has
supported the government of Hungary in putting in place some of the key building blocks
of a Strategic State, with a particular focus on:
• strategic vision, planning and implementation;
• administrative simplification and one-stop shops;
• the fight against corruption.
Implemented between March 2012 and December 2013, the OECD-Hungary
Strategic Partnership for Public Administration Reform represented an innovative
action-oriented programme that included a preliminary diagnostic of public
administration reform in Hungary, a series of workshops aimed at identifying
implementation bottlenecks and emerging good practices, and concluded with a review of
the reform of the territorial administration, administrative simplification and the
implementation of Hungary’s anti-corruption efforts. The partnership emphasised country
ownership of reform design and implementation and the role of the OECD as an
independent advisor and facilitator. Cross-country learning, international lessons and
emerging good practices constituted the key tools for implementing the programme.
This report presents the findings and recommendations that emerged from the
analysis conducted by the OECD. The report’s recommendations can be expected to
contribute to strengthening the efficiency, effectiveness, transparency and integrity of the
public administration and contribute to supporting sustainable and inclusive growth and
development in Hungary. The diagnostic and strategic directions presented in this report
were discussed with the Hungarian authorities over the course of 2012 and 2013 and have
contributed to the development of Hungary’s public administration reform for 2014-20.
In the framework of a second phase of the OECD-Hungary Strategic Partnership for
Public Administration Reform, in the course of 2014 the OECD will assess Hungary’s
public administration reform for 2014-20, with special emphasis, among others, on
strategic vision and the reform of the territorial administration.
HUNGARY: TOWARDS A STRATEGIC STATE APPROACH © OECD 2014
4
– ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Acknowledgements
This report was developed and written by a team from the OECD Secretariat under
the leadership of Caroline Varley and with the encouragement and support of Rolf Alter
and Martin Forst. Zsuzsanna Lonti, M. Varinia Michalun and Filippo Cavassini
contributed to the assessment of Hungary’s public administration reform strategy.
Lorenzo Allio, Daniel Trnka and Filippo Cavassini conducted the analysis of the reform
of the territorial administration and administrative simplification. János Bertok and
Mihály Fazekas prepared the assessment of Hungary’s anti-corruption framework.
Christiane Arndt, Julio Bacio Terracino and Faisal Naru were instrumental in developing
and organising the workshops and background analysis on which this report is based.
Katarzyna Weil provided unique administrative and organisational support throughout the
process. Liz McKeown from the United Kingdom’s Cabinet Office gave advice on the
assessment of Hungary’s public administration reform strategy.
This report would not have been possible without the support of Hungarian officials
from the Ministry of Public Administration and Justice and other ministries, who
provided key data and information and made comments on the draft versions of this
report.
Kate Lancaster provided editorial support. Jennifer Allain prepared the manuscript for
publication.
HUNGARY: TOWARDS A STRATEGIC STATE APPROACH © OECD 2014
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TABLE OF CONTENTS –

Table of contents
Acronyms ........................................................................................................................................ 7
Executive summary ........................................................................................................................ 9
Assessment and recommendations ............................................................................................. 13
Chapter 1 Addressing public administration reform in Hungary ........................................... 29
The “Good State” vision and the Magyary Programme ............................................................. 30
Opportunities .............................................................................................................................. 32
Challenges .................................................................................................................................. 34
Notes .......................................................................................................................................... 51
References .................................................................................................................................. 51
Chapter 2 Reforming Hungary’s territorial administration .................................................... 55
New institutional arrangements in the central administration .................................................... 56
The overhaul of the territorial administration ............................................................................ 59
Redesigning the state administration within the territory ........................................................... 59
Revisiting the local self-government .......................................................................................... 64
Simplification effects of the territorial administration reform ................................................... 69
Notes .......................................................................................................................................... 70
References .................................................................................................................................. 72
Chapter 3 Reducing administrative burdens in Hungary ......................................................... 73
Institutional arrangements for administrative simplification in Hungary .................................. 74
The legislative process in the Hungarian government ............................................................... 77
The government’s regulatory interface with the European Union ............................................. 84
Arrangements for closing the regulatory loop ............................................................................ 88
Enhancing business competitiveness and growth through administrative simplification .......... 91
Bringing the state closer to the citizens: The Simplification Programme ................................ 101
Deploying e-government in support of the reforms ................................................................. 111
Notes ........................................................................................................................................ 120
References ................................................................................................................................ 124
Chapter 4 Fighting corruption in Hungary .............................................................................. 127
The societal, economic and policy context .............................................................................. 128
Assessing ongoing anti-corruption measures ........................................................................... 129
Sustainability of the Hungarian integrity management framework ......................................... 139
Sustainability through robust evidence .................................................................................... 141
Notes ........................................................................................................................................ 141
References ................................................................................................................................ 142
Annex A The OECD’s proposal for an Integrity Module for Staff Surveys ............................. 145
Glossary ...................................................................................................................................... 147
HUNGARY: TOWARDS A STRATEGIC STATE APPROACH © OECD 2014
6
– TABLE OF CONTENTS

Tables
Table 2.1. Change in the structure of the central public administration in Hungary ............... 56
Table 2.2. Organisational integration within the Ministry of Public Administration
and Justice .............................................................................................................. 57
Table 2.3. Shifting competences from the local government level to government
district offices ......................................................................................................... 67
Table 2.4. Actually used central budget allocations as a % of the planned allocations
in 2012 .................................................................................................................... 70
Table 3.1. Hungary’s regulatory production (2010-13) .......................................................... 79
Table 3.2. Government regulatory activity in the first two years in office (2002-12) ............ 80
Table 3.3. Effects from the government deregulation project (2010-12) ................................ 91
Table 3.4. Implemented simplification measures by regulatory area (August 2013) .............. 98
Table 3.5. Target burden reduction on citizens, per ministry (planned) ............................... 104
Table 3.6. Number of simplified proceedings ....................................................................... 110
Table 3.7. Hungary’s e-government indicators (2009-12) .................................................... 111
Table 3.8. Reasons for not using e-government services in Hungary (2013) ....................... 112
Figures
Figure 1.1. Personnel affected by the Magyary Programme reforms ....................................... 32
Figure 1.2. Standardised and regulated strategic management cycle ....................................... 44
Figure 1.3. Consultation processes in 2008 .............................................................................. 48
Figure 2.1. Typical structure of a county government office ................................................... 62
Figure 3.1. Introducing regulatory impact analysis in the Hungarian government
(2010-13) ................................................................................................................ 82
Figure 3.2. Open infringement cases in the EU-27................................................................... 84
Figure 3.3. Late transposition cases in the EU-27 .................................................................... 85
Figure 3.4. Estimated administrative burdens as a share of GDP in Hungary compared
to selected EU member countries ........................................................................... 93
Figure 3.5. Summary of the Territorial Public Administration Reform Programme
projects ................................................................................................................. 108
Figure 3.6. Use of e-government by individuals (2012) ......................................................... 112
Figure 4.1. Perceived change in the level of corruption in selected Central and Eastern
European countries (2013) ................................................................................... 128
Figure 4.2. Source of proposed laws, type of procedure, average length of
parliamentary discussion per law, Hungarian parliament (2006-12) ................... 131
Figure 4.3. Proportion of contracts awarded without a prior publication of a call
for tender in the Hungarian Public Procurement Bulletin (2009-12) ................... 132
Figure 4.4. Public procurement spending announced in the Public Procurement
Bulletin and total public procurement spending (2009-11) .................................. 133
Figure 4.5. Proportion of institutions publishing the rules of discretionary
decision making, as reported in the integrity survey of the State Audit
Office of Hungary (2010/11-2012/13) ................................................................. 135
Figure 4.6. Regularity of publishing a job advertisement before hiring a new employee
(2011-12) .............................................................................................................. 136
Figure 4.7. Constraints to whistleblowing .............................................................................. 138

HUNGARY: TOWARDS A STRATEGIC STATE APPROACH © OECD 2014
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ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS –

Acronyms and abbreviations
ÁFEOSz National Federation of Consumer Co-operative Societies and Trade
Associations
AmCham American Chamber of Commerce
BCCH British Chamber of Commerce in Hungary
BKIK Budapest Chamber of Commerce and Industry
CSO Civil society organisation
EC European Commission
ECJ European Court of Justice
EKOP Electronic Administration Operational Programme
EU European Union
FiVOSz National Association of Young Entrepreneurs and Employers
GCI Global Competitiveness Index
GSMS Government Strategic Management System
HEBC Hungarian European Business Council
HRM Human resources management
ICT Information and communication technology
IO Information obligation
IPOSz Hungarian Association of Craftmen’s Corporations
ITOSZ National Association of Intelligent Society
JVSz Joint Venture Association
KEKKH Central Office for Administrative and Electronic Services
KISOSz National Federation of Retailers and Caterers
KR Central Electronic Service System
LGA Local Government Act
MEM Working Group on Simplification
MGyOSz Confederation of Hungarian employers and Industrialists
MJVSs Association of Cities of County Rank
MKIK Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry
HUNGARY: TOWARDS A STRATEGIC STATE APPROACH © OECD 2014
8
– ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

MKK Hungarian Government Officials’ Corps
MKVK Hungarian Chamber of Auditors
MOKK Hungarian Chamber of Civil Law Notaries
NAK National Agricultural Chamber of Commerce
NHIT National Council for Telecommunications and Informatics
NMIKK German Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry
NTG National Telecommunications Backbone Network
NVMT Hungarian Association of International Companies
OBH National Office for the Judiciary
OPAJ Office of Public Administration and Justice
OSS One-stop shop
PSC Points of single contact
RIA Regulatory impact assessment
SCM Standard Cost Model
SME Small and medium-sized enterprise
SSI State Secretariat for Info-Communication
TÖOSZ National Association of Local Authorities
VOSz National Association of Entrepreneurs and Employers

HUNGARY: TOWARDS A STRATEGIC STATE APPROACH © OECD 2014