The Prime Minister’s Office suggested at the November conference of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) held in Budapest to initiate a dialogue between the Government and the civil society sector, in order to ensure transparent utilization of public funds.

To the first discussion held on 22 December, participants of the OSCE conference were invited.

According to the Prime Minister’s Office, one of the achievements is the common will to make the utilization of public funds in the civil society sector more transparent.

Representing the Government, Minister of State Csaba Latorcai emphasized at the meeting that neither the Prime Minister’s Office, nor the other Ministries wish to interfere with content-related issues; however, the Government expects a transparent management of public funds.

In order to achieve real development in this matter, the Prime Minister’s Office will organize informal meetings every three months.

The civil society organisations participating at the first discussion were among others: Amnesty International, the Asimov Foundation, Átlátszó, the Autonmomia Foundation, Háttér Society, the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, the Legal Defence Bureau for National and Ethnic Minorities, the Hungarian Environmental Partnership Foundation, the Roma Press Center, Romédia Foundation and the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union.

The Prime Minister’s Office hopes to see more and more organizations joining the process in the future.

(Prime Minister's Office)