The internationally recognised Magyary Zoltán Public Administration Development Programme has entered a new phase. The Government is reviewing the procedures of the authorities one after the other and is doing away with any unnecessary red tape.

This Simplification Programme forms part of the public administration reform; by mid-2013, the Government seeks to simplify administration in more than 200 procedures in total. The first phase of the programme will be closed this autumn. The reduction of administration will significantly simplify day-to-day administration by virtue of the introduction of faster and simpler procedures in a number of areas. The reduction of the administrative burdens of business players and enterprises is taking place at the same time. The Government pledged to achieve this in the Széll Kálmán Plan, the plan that sums up the Government’s structural reforms.

The Ministry of Public Administration and Justice responsible for the coordination of the Simplification Programme entered into a cooperation agreement with the OECD for the support of the implementation of the Magyary Zoltán Public Administration Development Programme in March. The Ministry conducts regular professional consultations with the international organisation in five areas. The advice offered by the OECD as part of the programme is based on the relevant international best practices, thereby helping the Government with the implementation of the reforms, and in consequence, an internationally acclaimed programme will be put into place. The Magyary Programme may be the first Hungarian public administration reform that the OECD may also patent and may present to its Member States as a model. It testifies to the significance of this arrangement that the Hungarian programme will be introduced in London and China in the next few weeks.

As part of its simplification programme, the Government attempts to eliminate any unnecessary bureaucracy from procedures and to achieve that less paperwork and fewer forms, less queuing and simpler administrative processes should help citizens and should simultaneously switch public administration to a higher gear. Effectively every ministry is involved in the implementation of the programme and reviews the procedures that fall within their respective competence. In the first phase of the Simplification Programme extending to some 230 procedures, more than 40 procedures have been altered; some of the changes have already taken effect, while others will enter into force next year.

The administration of family support, utility services and student loans will be simplified, amongst others. There is an ongoing review as to how further procedures could be simplified, for instance, in cases related to family and children, in the administration of employment and unemployment services, social services and taxation, in the administration of affairs related to real estate, in traffic-related procedures conducted by the authorities or in the administration of affairs related to pension or marriage.

(Ministry of Public Administration and Justice)