Members of the Academy stressed that if the Hungarian Prime Minister were to appear in person at the jubilee assembly, they would leave the hall.Continue reading
The Integrity Authority has submitted its 2024 report to parliament, which in addition to increasing the annual number and efficiency of investigations and doubling the number of overruling motions, has started to build its own AI-based, innovative public procurement monitoring system and independent IT infrastructure, the Authority told MTI.
The Integrity Authority said in a statement that in the previous year, it made significant progress in detecting suspected corruption and ensuring the proper use of EU funds. In 2024, 25 investigations were opened and 21 closed, involving more than HUF 13 billion (EUR 279.6 mil.) of EU funding. Also regarding last year, the authority opened 26 irregularity cases, nine denunciations, initiated three cases with the Office of Economic Competition, and made 89 recommendations to remedy systemic problems.
Since its establishment in November 2022, the Authority has reportedly investigated or is investigating HUF 171 billion (EUR 423 mil.) of EU aid. They also said that the Authority has doubled the number of its requests for review compared to 2023, has initiated the reopening of previous investigations in 12 cases following the examination of 658 decisions, and has initiated proceedings before the Public Procurement Arbitration Committee on four occasions.
It is commonly known that the establishment of the Authority was one of the most important commitments of the government to ensure the success of the conditionality procedure and Hungary’s full access to EU funds. However, the Authority has also faced challenges: cooperation with public bodies is not always smooth and it has been reported that the Authority’s access to information remains poorly developed.
According to the report, in 2024, the Integrity Authority focused on increasing investigative efficiency, AI-based innovation, and good governance. The improved methodology, they said, will allow them to detect misuse of EU funds more quickly and accurately, with more than HUF 57 billion (EUR 141 mil.) of aid affected by investigations launched in 2024. They added that
last year, significant progress was made in the development of innovative artificial intelligence-based software, including an automated forecasting system and interactive software that allows quasi real-time monitoring of public procurement processes and better analysis of investigation material, enabling experts to proactively tackle fraud.
It has also been reported that with the launch of the Integrity Academy, an attitude-shaping and educational program has started, which will contribute to the spread of the culture of integrity in the long term, and that academic training is already taking place at the University of Debrecen through the programs launched last year, and several research projects are underway.
In a statement, Ferenc Pál Biró, President of the Integrity Authority, stated that the incorporation of the organization into the domestic legal order and the harmonization of its tasks and tools will effectively enable the Integrity Authority to operate efficiently and to prevent and detect the irregular use of EU funds, thus ensuring compliance with the main milestone of the conditionality procedure.
Via MTI, Featured photo via MTI/Bodnár Boglárka