Respect for the standards of rule of law is required for the proper spending of EU funds – this was the conclusion drawn by several speakers at an international conference organized by Transparency International Hungary (TI) in Budapest.

Hungary slipped down three places in the most comprehensive corruption ranking in the world, the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) prepared by Transparency International. Hungary's performance declined within the EU and also in the CE region.

Senior embassy staff of three countries discussed the importance of fighting corruption and noted the grave social and economic consequences of corruption at a press conference organized by Transparency International (TI) Hungary at the Sziget Festival.

Transparency International Hungary and the public information watchdog K-Monitor call on the Hungarian President not to sign into law an amendment on the freedom of information which lets the government charge unknown fee for providing public information.

Transparency International believes that while Hungary’s perceived level of corruption has remained the same, the CE European average has slowly but steadily improved. Hungary has been losing its favorable position in the region both in terms of corruption level and competitiveness.