OECD

Has the emigration in Hungary reached a turning point?

The Demographic Research Institute of the Hungarian Central Statistics Office reported recently that the percentage of emigration dropped in the recent few years and many people who left Hungary in the past years come back. The Central Statistics Office is pleased with the positive change and hopes that this tendency will become permanent.

According to portfolio.hu, in the past days, two studies about Hungary’s demographic situation were published by the Central Statistics Office. These studies show that Hungary was definitely an emigrating country at the beginning of 2000. In 2007 approximately 25,000 Hungarian citizens left the country and started a new life, mostly in Switzerland, Germany, and Austria. In 2010 nearly 50,000 citizens emigrated to Germany and Austria. In 2017 approximately 12,000 Hungarian born citizen lived in Austria and 10,000 in the United Kingdom. After the elections in April, it was a big dilemma whether Hungarian citizens’ interest turned to emigration or not. In June OECD reported that approximately 1 million people left Hungary in the past decade.

At the beginning of 2017, nearly 461 thousand Hungarian citizens lived in Switzerland.

In 2013 the percentage of emigration started to decrease. Between 2014 and 2015, emigration was no longer an issue in Hungary and in 2016 its percentage continued to decrease rapidly. Besides the rapid decreasing of emigration, many people started to come back to Hungary, although the exact number is hard to estimate.

In 2016 nearly 216 thousand Hungarian citizens who spent one year abroad lived in Hungary, among them, 130 thousand citizens lived abroad after 2000. This means that the number of people who came back after living abroad equals nearly 100 thousand.

According to the German Statistics Office’s report, between 2001 and 2006 approximately 15,000 people emigrated to Hungary, many of them were Hungarian citizens. In 2014 this number increased to 40,000. The situation is the same with Austria but with lesser people, approximately 6-7 thousand.

Although there is some positivity considering the emigration and demographical situation in Hungary, the percentage of Hungarian citizens who emigrate is still significant. The Central Statistics Office in Hungary hopes that they will find the method to persuade Hungarian people living abroad to come back and to stop the emigration.

November 16, 2018

Government official: OECD report on Hungarian education ‘positive’

The report of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on the situation of Hungarian education is “positive” and comes as little surprise to Hungarian policymakers, the deputy state secretary for public education told a press conference.

The report published on Tuesday relied on data from 2015-2016 in its section on Hungary, Zoltán Maruzsa noted. Hungarian education has seen many positive changes since, he said.

The report praises Hungarian government measures in pre-school care, saying that an extremely high proportion of children, 95 percent, attend creches or kindergartens.

State funding in this area is 0.9 percent of GDP, higher than the OECD average 0.8 percent, he said.

Regarding state education, Maruzsa said the impact of teacher pay increases under the career model is visible in the OECD data. The real value of a high school teacher’s salary with 15 years’ experience fell by 35 percent between 2005-2013 but grew by 10 percent by 2015, he said. Wages grew further in the next two years, and the government is poised to take further steps for this growth to continue, he added.

Hungarian government spending on education was a little below 4 percent of GDP in 2015, he said.

“That does not rank us highly,” Maruzsa said, adding that funding for education has grown constantly since 2015.

The government in 2010 allocated 1,571 billion forints (EUR 4.8bn) to education, he said. Funding rose to 1,874 billion forints in 2015 and will be 2,039 billion (EUR 6.2bn) in the 2019 budget, he said.

The OECD’s Education at a glance report is published annually and comprises assessments of the state of education in 35 member states and a number of partner countries.

Featured image: MTI

September 11, 2018

Hungarians among most indebted and least wealthiests – OECD study

A recent OECD study found that the gap between mean net wealth and median net wealth is at least worrying. As Portfolio.hu reports, net wealth is highest in the US, while in Hungary it is among the lowest ones.

While Hungary celebrated its 20th anniversary in OECD in 2016 and just joined an OECD multilateral tax agreement, the country is not making so good scores on OECD’s recent rankings. The recent study concentrated on the wealth gap to understand economic well-being in OECD countries, with a focus on income and wealth inequality. As the report says, wealth inequality is twice the amount of income inequality. This means that the wealthiest 10 pc have control over 50 pc of net wealth. In comparison, the top 10 pc of income distribution „only” hold 24 pc of total income.

Wealth inequality was measured to be the highest in the United States and the Netherlands, while the lowest in the Slovak Republic and Japan. Interestingly, households with the lowest wealth are not necessarily those with the lowest incomes – this may be due to the high level of debt despite advantageous income.

Based on the study’s findings regarding the distribution of wealth among OECD countries, we are seriously lagging behind.

The report looked at many measures and indicators to collect supporting data: levels of median wealth, wealth inequality, the relationship between wealth and income, and characteristics of households.

Net wealth is highest in Luxembourg, the United States, the United Kingdom, and lowest in Chile and Hungary.

*Photo: OECD report named Inequalities in household wealth across OECD countries: Evidence from the OECD Wealth Distribution Database*

Perhaps an, even more, scarier perspective is the level of wealth inequality. The bigger the difference between mean net wealth and median net wealth is, the wider is the gap between the average, ’typical’ household and the wealthiest 10 pc. Across the OECD countries, mean net wealth is 2,6 higher than median net wealth, which is a huge difference between various economic classes of society.

In Hungary, the bottom 60 pc share 15,4 pc of total net wealth, while the top 10 pc share is 48,5 pc out of total net wealth.

Household wealth composition must be regarded with special attention to wealth distribution in- and across countries. Naturally, the gross value of assets is low in the bottom wealth quintile in most countries. On the contrary, in the Netherlands, Ireland, Denmark and Norway, the average value of assets in this quintile is relatively high. Financial assets prove to be more important in the top quintiles and are more unequally distributed than non-financial ones in all countries.

In all countries, the largest share of gross assets is still real estate.

Mean net wealth has undergone a considerable change after the great recession. This impact has been mostly felt by younger generations: mean net wealth has decreased in households of youngsters, under age 35 in Australia, the United Kingdom, and other countries.

The recession has also made an impact on indebtedness: more than half of the households are in some kind of debt. 85 pc of debts stem from real estate debts, mortgage or loans related to the purchase of a property.

In Hungary, 40 pc of households are struggling with debt.

Featured image: MTI

August 6, 2018

Hungary to ratify OECD multilateral tax agreement in autumn

Hungary is expected to ratify in the autumn the OECD’s multilateral tax convention (MLI), which eliminates many international tax loopholes, Norbert Izer, state secretary for taxation affairs of the Finance Ministry, told MTI.

The biggest positive result of the tax convention for Hungary is that the rules preventing tax evasion can be built into a great part of bilateral tax agreements in a short time on a wide scale,

impeding aggressive tax planning strategies, the state secretary said.

OECD estimates that

multinational companies have paid 100-240 billion dollars less tax per year globally with the help of tax planning strategies,

primarily exploiting the differences between international conventions and the tax rules of individual states, Izer said.

[button link=”https://dailynewshungary.com/tax-cuts-to-continue-says-orban-cabinet/” type=”big” color=”pink” newwindow=”yes”] TAX CUTS TO CONTINUE, SAYS ORBÁN CABINET[/button]

The Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (“Multilateral Instrument” or “MLI”) has so far been signed by 78 countries across the world, including Hungary.

July 1, 2018

OECD highlights Hungary’s efforts to improve environment

Hungary has made “significant progress” in decoupling its output growth from environmental pressures and it has reduced its reliance on fossil fuels, according to an OECD report.

In an environmental performance review released on Thursday, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) also said the country needs to use more renewable energy sources and step up efforts to address air and water pollution. According to the report,

fossil fuels still account for about 70 percent of Hungary’s energy supply and OECD has urged an accelerated transition to a low-carbon economy.

Hungary’s total gross greenhouse gas emissions have decreased by 35 percent since 1990, but emissions have recently started to increase, driven by transport and agriculture, OECD warned.

The report has urged that the government should do more to address emissions of particulate matter and meet the respective EU targets for 2020 and 2030, noting that the average exposure of Hungarians to fine particulate matter is more than double the annual guideline limit set by the World Health Organisation.

The share of the population connected to wastewater treatment rose to 78 percent in 2016, but this share remains one of the lowest in the OECD, it said.

Most rivers have a bad to moderate ecological status due to pollution from agriculture and wastewater discharges, the report added.

Environmental authorities should be strengthened and encouraged to adopt best regulatory practices, and legal provisions for environmental democracy need better implementation, the OECD said.

The OECD said landfills that failed to comply with EU standards had been closed by 2009, but added that 54 percent of waste still ends up in landfills.

It urged the government to reinforce incentives, including economic instruments, for municipalities to strengthen waste management performance.

Protected areas cover more than 22 percent of Hungary’s territory, and it was one of the first EU member states to have its Natura 2000 network of protected areas declared completed, the OECD said, but it urged better management and financing for these areas.

June 29, 2018

Hungary urges dialogue on preventing EU-US trade war

The Hungarian government is pressing for dialogue to resolve a trade dispute between the European Union and the United States, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó told a news conference on Friday.

Speaking of the US custom tariffs recently put on steel and aluminum from the EU and other partners, and the EU’s countermeasures, Szijjártó said that Hungary as an export-oriented economy would regret to see the controversy escalated.

Especially regrettable would be a trade war between the US, Hungary’s largest non-EU trading partner, and Germany, its largest partner within the EU, he said.

The European Commission on Thursday said it would proceed with the imposition of additional duties on a number of imports from the US, after the US imposed additional duties of 25 percent and 10 percent on imports of steel and aluminium, respectively, from the EU.

The US duties will have little direct effect on Hungary, as just 1 percent of its metal exports go to the US, Szijjártó said. But producers squeezed out of the US market by the duties could move into other markets where Hungarian companies are present, boosting competition, he added.

For that matter, the Hungarian government supports European Union efforts to maximise the number of ambitious free trade agreements, but also trusts that the EU will “consider Hungary’s sensitivities, especially in agriculture”, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó told an OECD meeting in Paris on Thursday.

Freedom in global trade and removing obstacles from bilateral or multilateral cooperation is “crucial”, Szijjártó said.

On the sidelines of the OECD event, Szijjártó had bilateral talks with Francois-Philippe Champagne, Canada’s minister for international trade, Steven Ciobo, Australia’s trade minister, Jorge Faurie, Argentina’s foreign minister, and Ildefonso Guajardo, Mexico’s economy minister.

Featured image: MTI

June 1, 2018

Hungarian salaries are depressingly low! Here are the facts!

According to portfolio.hu‘s report about the new OECD findings, Hungary is at the very bottom of the list in terms of salary. The country’s situation is different regarding gross and net earnings.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development was founded in 1961 to help the economic progress of its 35 member countries. Their most recent figures reveal a lot about the average salaries of the members and how they compare to each other, as shown in the graph made by howmuch.net.

It is important to note that the list was compiled using annual salaries converted to USD while considering local price rates as well, to make the comparison easier. Gross earning was the primary concern when assembling the order.

However, because of the different tax rates in each country, it happens that the order is different when it comes to net earning (the amount of money people actually take home).

The graph displays net income, tax rates and the percentage of gross income that covers social security contributions.

payment, oecd, list — *OECD data*
*Photo: howmuch.net*

The list reveals that Switzerland, Luxembourg and Iceland offer the highest salaries.

Hungary is in 31st place in terms of gross income, however, due to high national taxes, it occupies 33rd place when it comes to net income, only preceding Mexico and Latvia.

Switzerland is in first place among the 35 member countries, both in terms of gross and net earnings. Luxembourg follows in 2nd while Iceland is in 3rd place. It is difficult to determine which country comes next, as tax rates make a huge difference. For example, South-Korea offers lower gross income than Germany but, because of high taxes for Germans, South-Koreans still earn more in terms of net income.

Interestingly, both the US and the UK are preceded by countries like the Netherlands and Australia.

Hungary is at the very bottom of the list. While it precedes 4 countries when it comes to gross income, the high tax rates cause the country to occupy 33rd place (out of 35) in terms of net income.

The net income situation is only worse in Mexico and Latvia.

Slovakian net pay is better by 5% while both Czech and Polish salaries are higher than Hungarian by 10%.

For more surprising data about Hungary’s place on international lists, check out this article about the international obesity list.

May 28, 2018

Steady economy and favourable investment opportunities giving rise to stronger Colombian-Hungarian partnerships

Great investment opportunities and business prospects lie for Eastern and Central European countries in Colombia, which soon becomes the member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) including the most developed countries all around the world, reports Latimo.hu. As the president of Colombia claimed at a business meeting organised in Hungary, Colombia is the perfect destination for Hungarian entrepreneurs given its favourable conditions and a large number of investment opportunities that can further strengthen the business ties and cooperation between the two countries.

The business meeting to which the representatives of the Hungarian-Latin American Association (LATIMO), including Mr Sándor Balogh, chairman of LATIMO, Mr Tamás Tóth, Secretary General of LATIMO, and Mr Jószef Bethlen, member of the Presidency of the Professional Department, were invited, presented clearly the prospective business opportunities lying in Colombia for Hungarian entrepreneurs. This was the 1st time that the president of Colombia, Mr Juan Manuel Santos, had visited Hungary, and on this occasion, he delivered a speech about the importance of promoting new business partnerships between the two countries.

As he highlighted, the official meeting in Hungary was a conscious political and economic decision on their part since Colombia had not had significant business ties with Central and Eastern European countries so far. This meeting, however, greatly contributed to strengthening the ties between Hungary and Colombia.

Given that Colombia is among the fastest developing Latin American countries, also including Chile, Mexico and Peru, it is an excellent destination for foreign investments.

What makes it an enticing destination for entrepreneurs is the favourable tax conditions and the unique parts of the country that have been undisturbed and impenetrable both for tourists and businesspeople for almost 50 years during the guerrilla warfare. For this reason, there are endless unexploited opportunities in the country waiting for investors.

In addition to this, the number of tourists visiting Colombia also augments year by year thanks to its wonderful geographical position and biodiversity that make it an attractive destination for holidaymakers.

In fact, its steady economic bacgkround with an annual GDP growth also justifies Colombia’s prospective place among the OECD Member countries.

Furthermore, the country’s attitude towards the deepening crisis present in Venezuela, which triggers massive migration to Colombia, is also exemplary since it tries to provide all the necessary assistance and support in the name of brotherhood for those who are forced to leave their country.

All the conditions mentioned above make Colombia an attractive investment destination for foreign entrepreneurs, and as Mr Juan Manuel Santos also pointed out, it would be a huge mistake not to exploit all these fantastic opportunities that the country provides us.

Featured image: Latimo

May 13, 2018

Hungarian president Áder discusses economic cooperation with Colombian counterpart

Juan Manuel Santos Columbia Hungary President Áder

Water and farm management, as well as forestry, are possible areas of cooperation between Hungary and Colombia, Hungarian President János Áder said after talks with his Colombian counterpart, Juan Manuel Santos.

There is room for expansion in cooperation in education and culture too, he said, adding that the number of Colombian students at Hungarian universities will double next year.

Áder congratulated Santos on the successful peace process with Colombia’s FARC rebels, his Nobel peace prize received in acknowledgement of that process, and the fight against drug trafficking, as well as to Colombia’ qualification for the football world cup.

Santos thanked Hungary for its role in the peace process, partly as a member of the European Union, and for its support of the country’s accession to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Hungary and Colombia have already taken up diplomatic contact by opening embassies and through meetings between the two countries’ foreign ministers, Santos noted. After today’s presidential meeting, relations could be taken to a regional level, with the Visegrad Group seeking cooperation with the Pacific Alliance comprising Chile, Peru, Mexico and Colombia, he said.

The presidents agreed that Hungary could have a role in Colombia’s reforestation efforts after the destruction of a long civil war in the country, and water management investments to counter the effects of climate change.

Photo: MTI

May 11, 2018

Rate of health-care spending in Hungary is twice the OECD average

Average health-care spending has increased in Hungary by almost twice as much as the OECD average, the state secretary of the human resources ministry said on Wednesday, citing OECD data. Wage hikes in the Hungarian sector have played a key role, he said.

While the rate in the increase of health-care spending was 1.4 percent on average in the OECD countries in recent years, the rate in Hungary was 2.7 percent, Bence Rétvári told MTI, referring to the Health at a Glance 2017 report released by OECD in November last year.

Out of the 35 OECD countries, the rate of health-care spending growth was higher than in Hungary in only five other countries, he said.

He said that phased wage hikes had been a key component of increasing health-care spending in Hungary, noting that over the past 16 months alone the wage of health-care professionals had gone up by 53 percent.

February 1, 2018

HungaryTrends – The week in business and finance

See below main business and financial news from the previous week:

DIRECT FLIGHTS TO BE ANNOUNCED BETWEEN BUDAPEST AND SEOUL IN 2019

South Korean low-cost airline will launch flights to Budapest, to the Balkan and to Eastern Europe. Read more details HERE.

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT HOSTS INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON WAGE UNION

Meeting in a conference called “Equal Pay for Equal Work”, economists, professors, experts, Members of the European Parliament and trade union leaders discussed such issues as the income gap in the EU, the problems of competitiveness, the benefits and drawbacks of labour mobility as well as how the demographic crisis affects the labour market. Read more details HERE.

SK INNOVATION TO BUILD EV BATTERY PLANT IN NW HUNGARY

South Korean SK Innovation will build a plant making lithium batteries for electric vehicles in Komárom (NW Hungary). The company plans to start construction in February 2018, test operation is due to begin in summer 2019, and commercial production from January 2020.

THE PRICE OF THE HUNGARIAN SOIL IS HEAVILY INCREASING

The price of soil in Hungary has increased by 10% in 2016. The value of the Hungarian soil has surpassed the level of the previous year by 11.2 % thus, on average, 1 hectare of land in Hungary was worth around 1.22 million forints (4,067 euros) in 2016. That is what is revealed by the Soil Index of TAKARÉK.

CHINESE PREMIER LI KEQIANG ARRIVES IN BUDAPEST FOR 16+1 SUMMIT

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang arrived in Budapest on Sunday ahead of a summit with the heads of government of 16 countries in the region. The China-Central and Eastern European countries (China-CEEC) summit was held next day.

CHINESE OBSESSION AROUND FLATS IN BUDAPEST

The demand for Hungarian flats in China was increased by 40% compared to last year. Potential Chinese buyers search for flats in Districts II and III for 54-80 million HUF, and in Districts XIV, XVI, XVII for 47-69 million HUF.

TENDER FOR BUDAPEST-BELGRADE RAIL LINE UPGRADE PUBLISHED

The deadline for the submission of tenders or requests to participate is January 19, 2018 in a two-phase tender Hungary called for the upgrade of the Hungarian stretch of the Budapest-Belgrade rail line. The contracting entity is Chinese-Hungarian Railway Nonprofit Ltd, the tender invitation, published on the website of MÁV shows. Read more details HERE.

BSE TO INTRODUCE MORTGAGE BOND INDICES

The Budapest Stock Exchange (BSE) will launch three mortgage bond indices, unique in the region, from December. The indices — the BSE Mortgage Bond Total Return Index (BMBX Total Return), the BSE Mortgage Bond 3 Year Yield Index (BMBX Yield 3Y) and the BSE Mortgage Bond 5 Year Yield Index (BMBX Yield 5Y) — are being introduced in cooperation with the National Bank of Hungary (NBH).

AROUND 25.6PC OF HUNGARIANS POOR OR AT RISK OF SOCIAL EXCLUSION, SAYS KSH

In 2016 there were 2.46 million people in Hungary who were either poor or at the risk of social exclusion, some 25.6 percent of the entire population, a summary of household living standards data published by the Central Statistical Office (KSH) shows. Data shows that the share dropped by 0.7 percentage points compared to 2015.

Q3 INVESTMENT GROWTH REACHES 18.3PC

Investments in Hungary rose an annual 18.3 percent in the third quarter, lifted by growth across all sectors with the exception of water and waste management, the KSH said.

BANKING SECTOR PROFIT CLIMBS 19PC IN Q1-Q3

The combined after-tax profit of Hungary’s banking sector rose an annual 19 percent to 495.8 billion forints (EUR 1.58bn) in Q1-Q3, lifted by higher commissions and the lower bank levy, data released by the National Bank of Hungary (NBH) show.

OECD RAISES HUNGARY GDP GROWTH FORECASTS

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) raised GDP growth forecasts for Hungary in its biannual Economic Outlook. The OECD raised the forecast for this year to 3.9 percent from 3.8 percent in the previous Economic Outlook released in June. It raised the forecast for next year’s growth to 3.6 percent from 3.4 percent.

HUNGARY JOBLESS RATE FALLS TO 4.0PC – KSH

Hungary’s rolling average three-month jobless rate dropped to 4.0 percent in August-October from 4.1 percent in the previous three month period and 4.7 percent in the same period a year earlier, the KSH said.

HUNGARY SEPTEMBER TRADE SURPLUS REVISED UP TO EUR 937M

Hungary’s September trade surplus was revised upwards to 937 million euros in a second reading of data released by KSH. In the first reading KSH had put the September surplus at 928 million euros.

December 4, 2017

Romania thanks renewed support for OECD accession, says Hungarian FM

Romania’s foreign minister has thanked the Hungarian government for pledging again support for its accession to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó told MTI on Monday, after speaking to Teodor Melescanu by phone.

Szijjártó, who is on an official visit to Vietnam, cited Melescanu as saying that his government would do its utmost to ensure that

the situation of a school for ethnic Hungarians in Targu Mures (Marosvásarhely), in central Romania, would soon be resolved.

As we wrote before, the foreign ministry summoned Romania’s ambassador after Romanian authorities made a move to suspend the operations of a Catholic secondary school in Targu Mures/Marosvásárhely.

Orbán’s cabinet weekly press briefing about Ukraine education crisis, migration quotas and other topics

Anyone who endangers Hungarian interests will find themselves up against the Hungarian state, government office chief János Lázár said at his weekly press briefing on Thursday, in connection with the new Ukrainian education law and Romanian policy affecting a school for ethnic Hungarians in Targu Mures (Marosvásárhely).

Lázár said the “coarse violation of Hungarian minority rights” was “unacceptable and shameful”. He called on the Ukrainian president not to sign the law, adding that the law was “a stab in the back”.

“Ukraine will lose a friend,” he said.

The government office chief also said Hungary would withhold its support for Romania’s membership of the OECD unless it sought a satisfactory conclusion to the issue of the Hungarian school in Targu Mures.

Hungary has also expressed its objection to Croatia’s OECD membership,

saying that the country has “harmed Hungarian economic interests”, citing the dispute between the two countries over Croatian oil and gas company INA and Hungarian peer MOL.

Meanwhile, on the subject of pensions paid to high-ranking dignitaries of the Communist regime, Lázár said the government was ready to examine the issue and conduct an investigation omitted in 1990.

Asked about remarks critical of the government by former ombudsman László Majtényi, who heads a prominent NGO, Lázár said NGOs are free to express their opinions, and he added that public life in Hungary was blooming without any hindrance.

Majtényi has accused the government and ruling parties of conducting a smear campaign against NGOs with the intention of intimidating them.

It is easy to blame the opposition parties’ failures on the government in election season, Lázár said. “But the opposition looks in the mirror, sees something appalling and smashes the mirror instead of taking a shave”, he said.

Challenged that opposition referendum bids “seem to go awry all the time”, Lázár said that the opposite was true.

Of opposition initiatives, many reached their goals, he said. Budapest is not hosting the Olympics, the shops are open on Sundays, and parliament has just raised the statute of limitations on corruption charges, just as the opposition proposed, he said. “They should be glad to be able to assert themselves, even in opposition,” he said.

Lázár dismissed a report about plans that the government would take over southern Hungarian city Pécs’s debts in exchange for ownership of the airport Pécs-Pogány,

which then would let to Russian energy giant Rosatom. No property swaps were discussed at the meeting, he said.

In connection with his personal plans, Lázár said that if it depended on him alone then he would work in his constituency between 2018 and 2022 and that he achieve more there than in government. He said, however, he was not without long-term ambitions. “Where there’s a job to do there are ambitions, but it is hard to sit on two horses at once.”

Speaking of Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s itinerary in the near future, Lázár said Orbán is travelling to Poland on Friday and then to Vietnam and Singapore. Lázár said there will be no government meeting next week.

September 21, 2017

Hungarian FM holds talks with Romanian, Croatian counterpart in NY

In meetings with his Romanian and Croatian counterparts on the sidelines of the 72nd UN General Assembly in New York, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said that Hungary will “always stand up for the interests of Hungary and ethnic Hungarians”.

Meeting with Romanian FM

Speaking on the phone on Wednesday, Szijjártó noted that

a Catholic school mainly attended by Hungarian students has been closed down in Tirgu Mures(Marosvásárhely), Romania.

Over a hundred Hungarian children were forced to start the school year at a different school, he said.

The Hungarian state is blocking Romania’s membership bid in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) until the problem is solved, he said. The situation is “disappointing”, Szijjártó said, because Romanian-Hungarian relations have lately shown promising developments.

The solution depends exclusively on political will on Romania’s side, Szijjártó said.

Hungary expects the Romanian government to undertake the steps necessary to reopen the school and to “rein in any nationalistic outbursts”, he said.

Hungary takes its lead from the local community and Catholic church in the issue, Szijjártó said. When the Hungarian community and the church in Tirgu Mures regard the situation as solved, Hungary will act accordingly, he said.

Croatian FM talks with Szijjártó

Commenting on the meeting with Croatian foreign minister Marija Pejcinovic Buric, Szijjártó noted that an international arbitration court has dismissed a lawsuit brought by the Croatian government Hungarian against oil and gas company MOL.

The Croatian government has been trying to buy back MOL’s shares in Croatian peer INA.

Croatia chose to ignore the court ruling, Szijjártó said. The OECD is based on honouring such decisions, and

Hungary will not support Croatia’s OECD bid until that issue is settled, Szijjártó said.

Photo: MTI

September 20, 2017

Higher education continues to be well rewarded in Hungary, OECD report finds

Hungary continues to offer one of the highest returns on investing in education among OECD member states, the state secretary for education said citing the OECD’s Education at a Glance 2017 report on Tuesday.

According to the report, Hungary has one of the highest employment rates among adults with higher-education qualification in the fields of natural sciences and IT, László Palkovics told a press conference.

At 2.5 percent, Hungary has the lowest unemployment rate in the OECD among young adults with higher education qualifications, he said.

Employment among 25-34-year-olds with upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary education has also improved compared with the OECD average, Palkovics noted.

Employment among 25-64-year-olds holding teacher degrees falls slightly short of the OECD average at 82 percent, the state secretary said.

As we wrote on Saturday, the Semmelweis University improved its previous ranking and made it into the top 500 universities of the world on the London-based Times Higher Education’s (THE) latest list.

Also we published an interesting article about crisis of Hungarian labour market. There is a severe lack of novice skilled labor, as it was revealed by the report of Profession.hu. The multiple years of experience is not necessarily a criterion anymore. More than 34,700 new job advertisements were submitted during the last three months. This data exceeds last year’s second quarter by 11 percent.

Photo: kolozsvaros.ro

September 12, 2017

Hungary withholds support for Croatia, Romania OECD membership bids

Hungary will not support Croatia and Romania’s bids to join the OECD, the foreign ministry said on Friday.

In a statement, the ministry cited the closure of a Catholic secondary school mostly attended by Hungarian children in Targu Mures (Marosvásárhely) as its reason for suspending its support for Romania’s accession to the organisation.

In the case of Croatia, the ministry cited the situation surrounding Hungarian oil and gas company MOL’s investment in that country and Croatia’s treatment of MOL’s chairman-CEO as its reasons for blocking its bid.

The ministry said Hungary declared its intention not to support either country’s bid to join the organisation at a meeting of the OECD Council in Paris on Friday.

Featured image: www.facebook.com/OECD

September 9, 2017

Hungarian tax burden skyrocketing

Hungary is still in the top three concerning the taxes and contributions among the countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). According to the recent analysis made by the organization, the Hungarian state receives 48.2 percent of the gross incomes without family discounts. The only two countries with higher tax wedge are Belgium (54 percent) and Germany (49.4 percent), as Magyar Nemzet Online reports.

The Czech Republic is the closest to Hungary from the region in this respect: they rank eight on the list with 43 percent rate of taxes and contributions. The other two V4 countries, Slovakia (41.5 percent) and Poland (35.8) are the 12th and 23rd, respectively. The lowest tax wedge is in Switzerland, where only 21.8 percent of the gross income goes to the state. Among the EU countries, the Republic of Ireland ranks the lowest with 27.1 percent.

Hungary’s situation is somewhat better concerning the family discounts: married couples with at least two children have to contribute with only 33.7 percent of their income. Hungary is the 11th on this list, even though the country is still below the OECD average of 26 percent. The other three V4 countries have more favorable ranks by three to six percent.

Besides percentage, OECD also examines the exact sums spent on taxes: while an average employer in Germany, Switzerland or Belgium provided 74,000 thousand dollars (62,352 euros) for the state in 2016, Central European countries were about half as “profitable”: this sum was 32,930 dollars (27,746 euros) in Hungary, 34,700 dollars (29,238 euros) in the Czech Republic, 31,930 dollars (26,904 euros) in Poland and merely 30,000 dollars (25,278 euros) in Slovakia. The average among the OECD countries is 36 percent, which means 50,000 dollars or 42,130 euros annually.

Another study by the organization, which was published in July, concerns how each country used its resources in 2015. The rate of state investments and GDP was 6.7 percent, which is twice as much as the OECD average. 17.3 of public expenses belonged to the “economy functions” category, which is the highest among the OECD countries. The average of the whole organization was 9.3 percent. Economy functions cover for example employment and traffic development. Hungary shows an increasing tendency in this field compared to the data from 2007, while most of the examined countries stand still. The average sum compared to the GDP was 18.7 percent in the OECD, while Hungary only spent 10.6 for this purpose. A similar percentage was spent on public education. It is also below the average. Moreover, this rate was above 17 percent in countries like Iceland, Switzerland, and Israel. 29.9 percent was spent on social support in Hungary, while the OECD average was 32.6 percent in this field.

ce: ZsK

August 7, 2017

OECD chief, Varga focus on SME productivity in Budapest forum

The OECD chief and Hungary’s economy minister focused at a forum in Budapest on Monday on policy initiatives that would accelerate the productivity growth of small and medium-sized enterprises.

Angel Gurria, general secretary of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), said an assessment was needed of how global supply chains could be intensified as well as how to raise the productivity of SMEs.

Mihály Varga, Hungary’s economy minister, said at the OECD Global Productivity Forum that the government was taking various measures to speed up the process whereby Hungarian SMEs hook up with international companies, primarily through Hungarian supply networks which provide a good opportunity for their products to enter international markets as exports. It is hoped that productivity will improve as a result of such measures, he added.

The minister also noted government schemes to integrate SMEs into the supply chains of international companies.

Varga said that joining international value chains also helps to advance the research and innovation endeavours of large companies, the results of which can then be exploited by small companies too.

Zoltán Balog, the minister of human resources, held talks with Gurria in his office and briefed him on government efforts to reduce regional disparities in accessing services, adding that the government counts on professional advice from OECD in this area, the ministry said in a statement.

Balog also briefed Gurria about the government’s Roma integration efforts and achievements. The number of Roma students in higher education doubled in the recent period, he told Gurria.

Gurria said OECD maintains excellent relations with Hungary and he offered closer ties in the areas of education, health care, Roma integration and early intervention. The two officials agreed to meet again for consultations in early November.

Photo: MTI

June 26, 2017