Formulating government strategies is not enough, the government must also implement the related programmes, Laszlo Parragh, chairman of the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MKIK) said at a meeting of the Heves County chamber on Wednesday.
Mr Parragh acknowledged the government’s goal to strengthen Hungarian industry, but said concrete measures would be necessary to achieve this.
He said the chamber required the necessary credentials to operate as a European business chamber, to organise vocational training and consultation, to accredit institutions of higher education and to have the opportunity for business arbitration.
Mr Parragh said there was structural crisis in Hungary, adding that investments and employment can not grow as long as Hungary still has the highest taxes and contributions in the region, aggravated by the minimum wage increase. He said branches with high demand for labour with low skill levels could be hurt the most by the minimum wage rise.
Smaller export demand, decreasing liquidity, the slide of the forint’s course and indebted local governments which are prone to hike taxes also pose “significant dangers”, Mr Parragh said.
Mr Parragh said businesses do not see the government’s intentions prevailing in practice, adding that businesses’ access to European Union funding was no faster now than during the crisis and that big state and local government companies such as the Budapest Transport Company (BKV) and railway company MAV were no more efficient.



