OECD

OECD ministerial council meeting in Paris – Hungarian minister: National, global interests need to be harmonised

National and global interests need to be harmonised in order to restore political and social support for international free trade agreements, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on Thursday during a break at the OECD ministerial council meeting in Paris.

It is in Hungary’s interests that the trust in free trade agreements is restored, because growing support will improve the global trade expansion rate, he said.

He added, however, that “global interests are a sum of national interests … and national interests must not be suppressed even in international trade.” In Hungary’s case, this applies to some issues concerning agriculture and industry, he said.

Szijjártó chairs a work group at the meeting which focuses on the role of international economic organisations in the introduction of labour and environmental standards, ensuring that responsible business practices are respected and encouraging the fight against international corruption and illegal trading.

He noted that external factors such as foreign investment play a serious role in an open economy such as Hungary’s, where the ratio of exports to GDP are above 90 percent. This makes the country particularly dependent on world trade growth after the past two years’ recession, Szijjártó said.

In order to achieve this, OECD needs to lead the way in four areas, Szijjártó said. In addition to restoring support for free trade agreements, efforts need to be made to maintain a balance between environmental protection and competitiveness, to support small and medium sized enterprises and to fight illegal trading.

“International discrimination of nuclear energy needs to be prevented and energy utilisation needs to stay a national competence”, Szijjártó said.

Since SMEs represent the backbone of the national economy, efforts need to be made to ensure that these companies are increasingly involved in the supply chain for large multinational companies. With this in mind, support for SMEs is one of the most important elements of the Hungarian government’s economic policy, he added. Multinationals employ 25 percent of Hungarian workforce while generating 60 percent of GDP, he said.

The fight against illegal trading is a major task because it can damage outlooks for countries that have an open economy, Szijjártó said.

“It is a special interest for Hungary that determined international cooperation, making no exceptions, is developed against illegal trading,” he added.

Szijjártó said Hungary supports and will gladly join a Dutch initiative to strengthen open economies and inclusive societies which was set up at the OECD ministerial council meeting on Thursday.

Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Hungary signs multilateral OECD tax convention

tax deductions

Hungary on Wednesday signed a multilateral OECD tax convention aimed at preventing base erosion and profit shifting, the economy ministry said.

The convention will ensure that rules designed to prevent cross-border tax evasion will be incorporated into bilateral tax treaties within a short amount of time, the ministry said.

It will also enable hundreds of tax treaties to be updated with OECD Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) measures without the need for drawn-out bilateral negotiations, the ministry added.

The convention was signed by more than 65 countries.

The agreement was signed by economy ministry deputy state secretary László Balogh at the OECD Ministerial Council Meeting in Paris.

Shocking result: Hungarians are the fourth most obese nation in the world

obesity weight loss overweight scale

According to penzcentrum.hu, the number of overweight people in Hungary is constantly increasing due to the combination of consuming much more calories than needed and the lack of sport activities, in other words the lack of energy balance. When it comes to coping with obesity, the best solution is to take small steps towards a healthier body-weight. Still, prevention remains the most effective method.

“Obesity is a serious issue in Hungary and all over the world, which can lead to even more serious health problems” said Eszter Halmy, the president of the Hungarian Association for the Study of Obesity. The rate of overweight and obesity has increased significantly in Hungary in the past decades, especially among men. Since the 1980s, the rate of people with slim and normal figure has decreased from 45% to 35%, and the rate of obese adults has doubled by 2014 compared to the 16% of 1988.

According to OECD’s study, 72% of men and 64% of women were overweight or obese in 2015. The overweight rate is the highest among men with a higher level of education, while the obesity rate is the highest among less-educated women. The growth of the rate is in correlation with ageing.

“Obesity is not an aesthetic problem, since its public health significance and social burdens equal the ones of smoking nowadays. Obesity at the age of 40 can shorten life expectancy with 6-7 years, while both overweight and obesity play a significant role in the development of type 2 diabetes” added Eszter Halmy.

30% of the Hungarian population over 15 is obese. All in all, the Hungarian rate is the fourth worst in the world as based on the study. Adult obesity rates are highest in the United States, Mexico, New Zealand and Hungary, while they are the lowest in Japan and Korea. This also means that Hungary is the most obese European country.

Since obesity is a complex problem, it can only be coped with if those concerned unite their powers and find a solution together. This is why the International Sweeteners Association joined the French Obesitology Association to support the day of obesity on the 20th of May.

The so called smart swaps – including the replacement of sugary food and drinks with similar products that have less calories – can help lower the amount of sugar and energy consumed without having to give up the desired sweet flavour. This way people can lose weight while still enjoying their favourite food and drinks.

Dozens of studies have proved that, if someone aims to replace sugar and have a balanced diet, the use of sweeteners low in calories and proper control of appetite can be one of the main elements of the successful strategy.

OECD acknowledges Hungary reforms, makes further recommendations

oecd

Budapest (MTI) – The OECD acknowledged structural reforms Hungary’s government has undertaken over the past two years in a report on Friday, but said there is still room to reduce bureaucracy for businesses, improve competition in the service sector and reduce the tax wedge on wages.

In its latest “Going for Growth” report, OECD recognised steps Hungary has taken to ease administrative burdens for businesses but recommended the country improve the transparency, stability and formulation of regulatory policies. Hungary’s Competition Office should become more involved with the legislative process and a dedicated anti-corruption agency should be established, it added.

The OECD said there is “insufficient competition” in retail, professional services and network services and recommended removing sector exemptions, taking a tougher stand on mergers, lowering barriers to entry in the retail sector and facilitating entry of mobile virtual network operators on the telecommunications market. It also urged the introduction of market-based energy pricing.

The OECD noted that the tax wedge on wages and salaries had been lowered through a reduction in the personal income tax rate and would be cut further by expanding tax allowances for families with children. But it recommended cutting the wedge on lower salaries further through better targeting and the introduction of an employment tax credit that progressively declines with wage levels.

The OECD also recommended Hungary reduce work disincentives for the elderly and improve outcomes and equity, specifically for Roma people, in education. It suggested training in information and communications technology could be applied horizontally, across all subjects.

In a statement issued after the release of the report, the economy ministry said the OECD had failed to take into account a number of measures the government has taken. With regard to reducing the tax wedge on low earners’ wages further, the ministry said the government had taken a better targeted approach than the OECD’s recommendations with introduction of a job protection programme. The scheme has successfully put disadvantaged workers in jobs, raising Hungary’s employment rate faster than any other OECD country except for the Baltic States in 2010-2015, it added.

The OECD report also failed to acknowledge the government’s recent agreement with employers and unions on raising the minimum wage and cutting payroll taxes over the next several years, the ministry said.

Gender wage gap narrows in Hungary

woman-man-work-job

Budapest, March 7 (MTI) – The disparity of wages earned by men and women in Hungary has narrowed dramatically, a government official has said.

According to a Eurostat survey, the gap of 20 percent in 2012 narrowed to 14 percent by 2015, Piroska Szalai, an economy ministry advisor, told public television on Tuesday.

She also noted OECD data which indicated an even lower wage disparity of 3.8 percent in 2014, putting Hungary in first place on this measure among OECD countries.

Szalai said the Eurostat results showed Hungary making the biggest strides in this area, largely thanks to the new career model in the teaching profession which employs many women.

International education exhibition opens in Budapest

Budapest, January 19 (MTI) – The 17th Educatio International Exhibition was opened in Budapest on Thursday.

Textbook publishers, universities from abroad, language schools and vocational colleges are among the exhibitors at the three-day event, at which organisers expect around 35,000 visitors this year.

László Palkovics, the state secretary for education, told the opening that Hungary’s higher education institutional system was getting stronger.

The government has stabilised the finances of the higher education system and is making up for the cuts that had been made to the education budget before 2010, Palkovics said.

He said graduate unemployment in Hungary “has basically been eliminated”, adding that “any graduate who wants to work can find a job.” Palkovics said Hungarian universities offered the best return on investment within the OECD.

Photo: MTI

Hungary joins OECD corporate anti-tax evasion initiative

Daily News Hungary economy

Budapest, December 22 (MTI) – Hungary has decided to join the OECD’s Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) framework that aims to limit tax evasion and aggressive tax optimisation by big multinational corporations, the economy ministry announced on Thursday.

So far 50 countries have signed the agreement under which OECD tax authorities will share country-by-country reports on transfer pricing standards, the ministry said in a statement.

Under the deal, the tax authorities of OECD member states will regularly share with each other information on certain multinational corporate groups with annual revenues of over 750 million euros. The data that will automatically be exchanged each year will include staff numbers, revenue, income tax and income distribution.

By determining the arm’s length price, tax authorities will be able to identify risks related to tax base reduction and profit reallocation. They will also be able to calculate the taxes the given companies owe, the ministry added.

On the basis of these data, tax authority NAV able to more accurately identify the companies that need to be inspected.

The agreement still has to be ratified by parliament, which it is likely to do at the beginning of 2017, the ministry said, noting that the deal is also applicable to 2016.

Education state scretary: Poor PISA results not to affect education reform

Budapest (MTI) – The education reform the government has started will not be “essentially affected” by the poor results achieved by Hungarian students in the PISA test, but several points must be reviewed, education state secretary László Palkovics said in an interview published in daily Magyar Idők on Saturday.

Palkovics said the assessment of the results is underway and a report comparing the scores with those of other countries will be submitted to the government in January.

He said they will look into what has changed, what happened at schools, what kind of teaching methodology was applied and whether the new way of filling in the test – which students now had to fully complete on computers – caused any problems.

Palkovics noted that many countries have seen their PISA test results deteriorate. “We were not shocked by the PISA scores, and the PISA will not essentially change the reform process that we started,” he said.

Answering the question as to who or what is chiefly responsible for poorer performance, the state secretary said “this is a complex problem”; there is the curriculum, the syllabus and the methodology, which must be reviewed. Teachers and parents play a role as well, he added, noting that children cannot be blamed although it is true that if they do not learn what they have to, these results will obviously be worse.

Discussing the points to be reviewed, Palkovics said it would be important that certain classes should be taught in smaller groups in future so that students who need more help than others should receive extra attention from teachers. Furthermore, it is also important that schools should be supplied with the necessary educational tools: there are now few schools in the country where the modelling and simulation procedures required by PISA are used in teaching students younger than year eight, Palkovics said.

Hungarian students scored worse in reading comprehension and in science in a PISA test conducted last year than in a similar test in 2012, according to a recently published OECD report.

Hungary becomes full member of OECD cttee for development assistance

Paris, December 6 (MTI) – Hungary has become a formal member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) Development Assistance Committee (DAC), foreign ministry state secretary István Mikola told MTI on Tuesday.

Hungary will contribute to the DAC’s programme in the fields of agriculture, food security, environmental protection technologies and water management. Hungary will also have a role in putting together the DAC’s scholarship schemes, Mikola said.

The state secretary said the DAC plays a key role in implementing the UN’s sustainable development goals.

The DAC, which is a forum for donor countries to discuss aid flows to and poverty reduction in developing countries, was founded in 1960. Hungary is the 30th OECD country to become a member of the DAC, having previously enjoyed observer status in the organisation.

Hungarian students below OECD average in PISA test – UPDATE

education

Brussels, December 6 (MTI) – Hungarian students scored worse in reading comprehension and in science in a PISA test conducted last year than in a similar test in 2012, according to an OECD report published on Tuesday.

Participants in the 2015 test showed similar results in maths as three years earlier. But in all three areas they scored below the average of OECD countries, the report said.

The PISA system, introduced in 2000, measures students’ performance across OECD countries. The test is conducted every three years.

Commenting on the report, education state secretary Laszlo Palkovics said that it was too early to see results of Hungary’s new national curriculum introduced in 2013.

Palkovics also said that the test comprised of three different surveys on different groups of students, and while “the results are in correlation at some level”, they are not comparable.

The opposition Jobbik party also criticised the government for its “failed” education policy. Dóra Dúró, the party’s deputy group leader, told a press conference that the human resources minister should resign or “at least give up the education portfolio”. According to Jobbik, fundamental changes are necessary such as a radical reduction of the material to be taught at schools, she said.

Péter Niedermüller, MEP and deputy head of the leftist Democratic Coalition (DK), insisted that the government “is deliberately destroying” Hungary’s public education. In a statement, Niedermuller insisted that the “regrettable situation” was a “direct consequence” of the government’s education policy. He argued that the government had “curbed the freedom of education, stopped competency-based programmes, eliminated subsidies for poor students, promoted segregation, disregarded the rightful demands of teachers and introduced a rigid curriculum based exclusively on factual knowledge”.

The opposition Socialist Party called the PISA results “shocking, disastrous”, and demanded that the human resources minister should resign. Socialist deputy head of parliament’s cultural committee Ágnes Kunhalmi insisted that the PISA report reflected a “total failure of the government’s dumbed-down education policy”. She added that the results would be better “even if the government had not done anything at all since 2010”.

OECD health data show success of Hungarian measures after 2010

surgeon, emigration, health doctor healthcare

Budapest (MTI) – Hungary’s health-care system saw big changes in financing after 2010, and several health indicators have improved as a result, as confirmed by data published in a recent OECD report, Bence Rétvári, state secretary at the human resources ministry, said on Sunday.

Citing the OECD’s recent Health at a Glance report, Rétvári said Hungary’s health-care expenditures rose by nearly 1.5 percent of the country’s GDP after a steep decline earlier. OECD data show that thanks to government measures Hungarians have had better access to sports, healthy food and medical services in the past few years, Rétvári said.

Hungarian children are better protected from the most infectious disaseases than the EU average because 99 percent of them get the right vaccinations early on, compared with only 96 percent on average in the EU, he said.

The government’s efforts to introduce everyday mandatory physical education to school curriculums has paid off, as the OECD report shows that Hungarian 11-15 year-olds get more excercise than the average European. Another example where Hungary is doing better is breast cancer and prostate cancer. According to the OECD data 0.055 percent of Hungarian women have breast cancer, compared with 0.074 percent of the European average. Similarly, only 38 out of 100,000 Hungarian men were suffering from prostate cancer, compared with 70 in the average of the 28 EU member states, he said.

Rétvári said other government measures promoting health, such as the fat tax and model school meals, have also been successful. Daily fruit consumption has increased, Hungary is above the EU’s average, ranking sixth among all countries in this respect.

Hungary has a good number of doctors, there are 14.5 of them for every 100,000 Hungarians, compared with an EU average of just 12.3. There are 40.5 registered nurses per 100,000 people, and 39.1 in the EU on average, he added.

OECD lowers 2017 GDP growth forecast to 2.5 pc

Daily News Hungary economy

Budapest, November 28 (MTI) – The OECD lowered its projection for Hungary’s GDP growth next year to 2.5 percent in volume terms in a forecast published on Monday from the 3.1 percent in the previous Economic Outlook released in June 2016.

The OECD however improved its 1.6 percent summer projection for Hungary’s growth this year to 1.7 percent in the autumn edition of the World Economic Outlook. In newly released data for 2018 the organisation is projecting 2.2 percent GDP growth in Hungary.

According to the OCED, in 2016 economic growth slowed because of a sharp reduction in public investment in infrastructure arising from the slower disbursement of EU structural funds at the beginning of the new funding cycle.

Better credit conditions and higher lending activity are supporting business investment, especially in manufacturing, despite profits being squeezed by higher unit labour costs that resulted from declining productivity. Housing investments should also pick up along with higher subsidies and a recovery in housing loans.

Private consumption sustained its brisk pace on the back of rising real incomes. Consumption should continue to expand robustly as real incomes continue to increase, supported by lower personal income tax and VAT on selected goods.

Consumption should grow by 5 percent in 2016 then by 3.8 percent in 2017, followed by a 3.7 percent growth in 2018.

The private sector remains the main source of job creation, while the high level of enrolment in public work schemes is slowly coming down. Together with slower growth of the labour force, this has reduced the unemployment rate by almost 2 percentage points over the past year, to around 5 percent.

Headline inflation hovered around zero until late 2016, when the impact of previous declines in energy prices came to an end and higher indirect taxes pushed it to 1 percent. Inflation could be at 1.4 percent in 2017 and at 2.5 percent in 2018.

Export growth is projected to fall as competitiveness will continue to be eroded by higher wage costs and slow productivity growth. Exporters have been sustained so far only because firms have cut prices, but this cannot continue indefinitely. Export growth could fall from 8.1 percent this year to 4.8 percent next year and 4.3 percent in 2018.

Hungary’s state debt, calculated according to Maastricht rules should decrease from 75.1 percent of GDP in 2016 to 74.1 percent in 2017 and 72.8 percent in 2018.

The National Bank of Hungary could keep its base rate steady, further reductions are not expected, as the central bank has signalled that these rates are in line with the 3 percent inflation target.

Farm minister meets OECD officials over upcoming environmental performance review

agriculture farm land

Budapest (MTI) – The Hungarian farm minister held consultations with OECD officials about the organisation’s third environmental performance review to start at the end of the year, the ministry said on Wednesday.

Sándor Fazekas met Environment Director Simon Upton and policy analyst Eugene Mazurt in charge of the review, the ministry said in a statement.

Fazekas emphasised the importance of implementing a central environmental policy that serves to improve the conditions of a country’s natural environment.

Implementing a “green” policy is imperative in preserving waters and arable land that will become scarce natural resources, he said. This will also help improve people’s health and the country’s economic performance, he said.

After their talks the minister and the OECD officials attended a conference organised by the ministry to mark the 20th anniversary of Hungary’s OECD membership.

OECD conducted its previous environmental performance reviews in 1999-2000 and in 2007-2008 for Hungary.

Hungary eyes membership on OECD Development Assistance Committee

Hungary could become a member of the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee, foreign ministry state secretary István Mikola said after holding talks with the committee’s delegation in Budapest on Wednesday.

Talks held over the past two days suggest Hungary could be granted membership in December, Mikola said.

He noted that Hungary is the only member of the Visegrad Group, which also includes the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia, that is not yet a member of the DAC.

Karen Jorgensen, who is heading the OECD DAC delegation, said it was important that Hungary should also be a member of the committee as the country is a strong supporter of matters of development policy.

OECD membership “highly beneficial” for Hungary

Daily News Hungary economy

Budapest, June 27 (MTI) – Hungary has benefitted greatly from being a member of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) over the past 20 years, a senior economy ministry official said on Monday, marking the anniversary of the country’s membership.

Back in 1996 the OECD was the first transatlantic organisation to assert that Hungary’s economic and political transition was “irreversible,” the deputy state secretary for fiscal policy said after a meeting of the National OECD Council in Budapest.

Member states have utilised OECD’s knowledge and expertise in the fields of environmental protection and climate policy as well as in the areas of productivity and vocational training, László Balogh said.

Over the past 20 years Hungarian decision-makers and experts have relied on OECD’s expertise in formulating and “fine-tuning” policies in almost all fields, he said.

OECD lowers Hungary forecast for 2016 GDP growth

Budapest, June 1 (MTI) – The OECD has lowered its growth forecast for Hungary’s economy to 1.6 percent from 2.4 percent in the previous Economic Outlook released in November 2015.

In the report published on Wednesday, the OECD maintained its 3.1 percent projection for Hungarian GDP growth next year.

The organisation said “growth is projected to moderate in 2016 due to a temporary contraction in public investment as a new cycle of EU structural funds commences, but should pick up again in 2017. Private demand should remain solid and employment should continue to expand”.

The OECD expects private consumption to rise by 3.7 percent this year and next, up from the 3.2 percent projection for both years in its previous report.

Total domestic demand is expected to rise by 1.8 percent this year, then by 3.8 percent in 2017, faster than the earlier respective forecasts of 1.1 percent and 2 percent.

Exports are forecast to grow by 3.7 percent this year before picking up to 5.5 percent next year, while imports are likely to rise by 3.7 percent and 6.6 percent respectively.

The public-debt-to-GDP is expected to stand at 74.3 percent this year, then at 73.3 percent in 2017, as against the earlier respective forecasts of 74.6 percent and 72 percent.

The OECD said “the disappearance of economic slack and the one-off effects of lower energy prices will push up inflation during 2017.” Inflation is seen at 0.1 percent in 2016 and 1.7 percent in 2017, below the previous forecasts of 2.2 percent and 2.7 percent respectively.

Unemployment is forecast to fall to 5.8 percent this year as opposed to the earlier forecast of 6.3 percent. The jobless rate may further ease to 5.3 percent in 2017, lower than the 5.9 percent projected in November. “Employment growth is being mainly driven by the private sector, although the expanding public work schemes continue to be an important factor behind the fall in unemployment”, the report said.

Agnes Hornung, state secretary for finance at the economy ministry, said in a statement that the OECD’s budget and inflation expectations largely tied in with the government’s targets but its forecast for GDP growth in the short run diverges from the government’s projection. The OECD’s view of the growth outlook this year was coloured by data for the first quarter, she said. Yet payments in the rest of the year are expected to speed up considerably and the government’s housing scheme is also expected to give a lift to construction and investments, which feed into economic growth, she said.

Poorer figures in the first quarter were driven by various technical problems in the vehicle industry but last year’s quick pace in the sector is expected to return, Hornung said.

She noted the OECD’s recognition of positive developments on the labour market in terms of both the expanding employment market and the record low jobless rate. The fast pace of rising real incomes underpins consumption, she added.

Both the OECD and the government expect the budget to show deficits of 1.9 percent this year. In 2017 the government sees a shortfall of 2.4 percent whereas the OECD expects the gap to be 2.6 percent, the state secretary said.

OECD sees return of “strong economic growth” to Hungary

Budapest, May 6 (MTI) – Prime Minister Viktor Orbán met Angel Gurria, Secretary General of the OECD, in Budapest, the prime minister’s press chief told MTI on Friday. “Strong economic growth has returned” to Hungary, the OECD said in a survey, putting GDP growth at 2.5 percent in 2016 and 3.0 percent in 2017.

Orbán meets OECD Sec-Gen

oecd-orban

After their talks in Paris in April, Orbán and Gurria again reviewed cooperation between Hungary and the organisation and established that ties were extremely productive and fruitful, Bertalan Havasi said. Orbán said the OECD’s work has contributed to the success of Hungarian reforms. Gurria expressed appreciation for Hungary’s success and felt it was important that Hungary shared its expertise with other states, too, Havasi said.

OECD’s survey

Macroeconomic imbalances are being corrected, state debt as a percentage of GDP is falling, the country is running a current account surplus and financial vulnerabilities have been reduced, the OECD said in the 2016 Economic Survey of Hungary. The OECD noted, however, that non-performing loans still hamper bank lending, income levels are still well below those in more advanced economies and, as economic slack disappears, sustaining growth will require structural reforms to strengthen the business sector and upgrade skills.

Investment growth has started to pick up, supported by faster business capital accumulation as well as inward FDI and European Union funding, the OECD said. But business investment is still “held back frequently changing regulatory environment and entry barriers in network industries”, it added.

The OECD said that the education system has reacted slowly to labour market changes, leaving many graduates without needed skills. Training in public work schemes has not been effective enough in generating relevant labour market skills, it added.

Economy Minister Mihály Varga welcomed the OECD’s findings and said the report recognised the Hungarian economy’s improvement. It acknowledges the economic growth Hungary has achieved in recent years, the decreasing public debt and reduced vulnerability, the job growth along with the country’s current account surplus, the minister said.

Photo: MTI

Hungary celebrates 20th anniversary of joining OECD

Daily News Hungary economy

Budapest (MTI) – Hungary joining the OECD twenty years ago was “a milestone” in its political and economic transformation, the Economy Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday in connection with the ceremonial anniversary.

The OECD gave “serious help” in policy recommendations for Hungary in moving towards a market economy, including establishing its network of institutions and legal framework, the statement said. Being a part of the OECD meant that Hungary could take part of the work of the international community, becoming privy to a global knowledge base, it added.

Head of the National OECD Council Ágnes Hornung, who is also a state secretary at the economy ministry, presented at the session a publication showcasing the past twenty years of cooperation within the OECD, the statement said.

Varga addresses OECD labour committee on job growth

job

Paris (MTI) – Hungary has seen great results in employment policy and wants to share good practices for boosting employment and reducing the jobless rate, Hungary’s economy minister said in Paris on Friday.

Mihaly Varga addressed a meeting of ministers of OECD countries in the organisation’s Employment, Labour, and Social Affairs Committee.

Speaking to MTI on the event’s sideline, Varga said Hungary has managed to channel disadvantaged groups back into the labour force. Through its fostered work schemes the government had been able to re-integrate 12-13 percent of those enrolled in the programme onto the primary labour market, he said. Hungary has achieved with its fostered work scheme a “break-through” in proving to OECD which had originally held reservations about the programme that it could serve as a “first step” for people to return to the real labour market after 5-6 years on unemployment, he said.

“We have proved to OECD that the Hungarian scheme works, it is successful and worth sharing as a model with other countries,” Varga noted.

Hungary’s employment growth was one of the fastest among OECD countries over the past five years, Varga said, noting that 563,000 people have found jobs during that period.

The unemployment rate has dropped to 6.2 percent and more than 150,000 new jobs have been created during that period, the minister added.

“These achievements are in large part due to the measures Hungary implemented partly with the OECD’s targeted support,” he said.

Varga also noted that 900,000 people have maintained their jobs over the past one and a half years under the job-protection scheme launched for six socially disadvantaged groups.

The minister noted additional employment policy measures that included introducing a flat-rate personal income tax and increasing the minimum wage. He also noted the introduction of the dual vocational training scheme modelled on the German and Austrian systems, as well as renewing Hungary’s labour code.

The ministerial meeting is the first high-level event marking the 20th anniversary of Hungary’s OECD membership.

The Hungarian government will organise several programmes and events to promote OECD during the anniversary year.