The Hungarian Government plans to decide by year-end the exact number of staff required for public administration tasks and whether there were overlaps in services, the Government’s Spokesman András Giró-Szász told public television M1 on Monday, 24 September.

Asked to comment on recent press reports of government plans to downsize the public sector, he said that there is a possibility of mergers if certain areas are "too far branched out". He added that it was important to assess the size of the apparatus required to operate Hungary's education, public administration, pension, health-care and local government systems. He stated that Hungary spends 49% of its gross domestic product (GDP) on operating its public administration system compared to only 45% of GDP spent in neighbouring countries. The Government wants to simplify its public administration, creating self-sufficient units which provide a better service, Spokesman Giró-Szász said.

(MTI)