The Hungarian government has begun publishing previously classified government decisions dating back 16 years, with the first batch revealing billions of forints in state-funded research, polling and media analysis linked to the pro-government Századvég group. Around 100 classified decisions are expected to be made public.
First batch reveals billions in public spending
The Hungarian government has published the first batch of previously classified government decisions issued over the past 16 years, opening up a new window into how public money was spent under Viktor Orbán’s governments.
The so-called “3000-series” government decisions were classified and were originally intended for sensitive matters involving, for example, national security or defence. However, the current government says its review has found that the classification system was also used to conceal decisions whose confidentiality can no longer be justified.
The first documents concern state-funded research and studies commissioned from the Századvég group. According to the government, the first batch contains 14 decisions worth a combined roughly HUF 65 billion. The documents include decisions covering public opinion polling, media research and analysis, financial consultancy and strategic advice.
Billions spent on polling and media research
Among the documents now available are decisions dating from several different years. One 2014 decision authorised more than HUF 500 million for financial consultancy. A 2018 decision allocated HUF 1.8 billion for work involving European public opinion, media monitoring and research into pensioners. In 2019, the government approved HUF 12.2 billion for public opinion polling and consultancy.
Two particularly large contracts date from 2022: one involved media analysis in Hungary and Europe worth HUF 7.1 billion, while another allocated HUF 9.6 billion for public opinion research in Hungary, the European Union and the Balkans. The latter decision was originally classified until 3 August 2032.
The released document even shows the formal structure of the classified decision, including the signature and official stamp of the prime minister’s office at the time.
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What is Századvég?
Századvég has long been closely associated with Hungary’s political right. The organisation’s roots go back to the generation that founded Fidesz, with Viktor Orbán and current Fidesz politician László Kövér among those who were involved with the group’s journal in its early years.
After 2010, when Orbán’s Fidesz returned to government, Századvég’s role and state funding expanded significantly. The organisation has provided public opinion polling, political and policy analysis, media research and strategic consultancy for the Hungarian state.
The new government’s website claims that Századvég became one of the main analytical and consultancy centres supporting the Orbán government’s policies, while receiving billions of forints in government contracts over the years. The government also says the newly released documents demonstrate how classified decisions were used to conceal some of these expenditures from public scrutiny.
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More secret decisions to be published
The publication is not limited to the first batch. The government says the process will continue, with around 100 previously classified government decisions ultimately expected to be made public. That could provide further insight into decisions made during the 16 years of Orbán-led governments, particularly where significant amounts of public money were involved.
The publication comes after the new government had already raised questions about the scale of state spending on Századvég. According to Telex, the Orbán government paid the organisation more than HUF 7.6 billion between January and March 2026 alone for various studies and measurements. The organisation had already begun a strategic “shift in focus” and layoffs in early May, shortly before the new government took office.
Government says it will pursue the matter
Ruff Bálint, the minister heading the Prime Minister’s Office, previously told Telex that the government was preparing to publish around 100 classified “3000-series” decisions. He said these included decisions concerning hidden commissions for Századvég studies and estimated that HUF 20–30 billion had been spent on the organisation in recent years.
Ruff also said the government planned to file a criminal complaint over the matter. The new administration has already taken similar legal steps in another case involving public funding: the Prime Minister’s Office recently filed a complaint concerning almost HUF 28 billion in state support received by the Kommentár Foundation.
