Richard Nephew, the US Global Anti-Corruption Coordinator, visited Budapest on August 31 and September 1 for formal discussions on fighting corruption in Hungary. Embassy.
The US government expert met with organizations that play a key role in investigating and combating corruption in Hungary, including the newly created Integrity Commission, civic organizations, and investigative journalists.
As mentioned, the United States views the fight against corruption as a core national security interest.
The topic of corruption is a frequent source of conflict in the relationship between the two countries: Washington has criticized the domestic situation on several occasions, but in 2015 it was also decided to ban several Hungarian officials, including Vida Ildiko, the then head of state. net asset value, due to a bribery case.
As we mentioned in our report, in May the US published its country-by-country reports on the human rights situation, including the assessment for Hungary, which also mentioned corruption as a serious problem here. that way Hungarian laws passed in response to the EU’s rule of law measures are also incomplete, as, according to experts, they do not provide effective tools for investigating cases and conducting proceedings. As you know, the government has agreed that if the Public Prosecutor’s Office closes an investigation into corruption, individuals can submit a review application, on the basis of which the court can decide whether the procedure should continue.
In the same way, the report covers problems that question the independence of the judicial system, which have also been raised by the European Commission during the implementation of the rule of law mechanism. As mentioned among the reforms required in the conditionality procedures, in the case of the National Judicial Office, it is criticized that the influence of the government is strong, which also affects the appointment of judges and the distribution of cases.
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