He said he was in agreement with Whittingdale that fewer regulations are needed in many areas of life but closer cooperation is required in media regulation.

On Tuesday evening Balog gave a lecture at the University College London (UCL) about Hungary’s achievements in social and economic developments over the past five years, saying a new type of communication was needed to address social problems.

In the period between 1990 and 2010 the spheres of authority were not clearly distributed between the state, the local councils, and citizens and the activities of local communities and authorities were mostly focused on finding loopholes. Since 2010, the government had to take some unusual steps, and there was often no time to explain these in advance, he added.

Balog also said a key issue today is employment for the Roma, not only in Hungary but throughout Europe where an estimated 6-8 million Roma live.

According to World Bank figures, if the average employment level could be achieved among the Roma community, then this could equal 2.2% economic growth in every affected European Union member state, he added.

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MTI photo: Máthé Zoltán