This report was prepared by the OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities (CFE) led by Lamia Kamal-Chaoui, Director, as part of the Programme of Work and Budget of the OECD Regional Development Policy Committee and its OECD Water Governance Programme. This report and policy dialogue were funded by the European Union via the Technical Support Instrument and implemented by the OECD in co-operation with the Reform and Investment Task Force (SG REFORM) of the European Commission. The OECD Secretariat acknowledges Mauro Sibilia and Jan Zimmermann, Policy Officers in SG REFORM, for the co-operation.
The report and underlying policy dialogue were authored and co-ordinated by Juliette Lassman, Policy Analyst, with the supervision of Oriana Romano, Head of the Water Governance, Blue and Circular Economy Unit, under the overall leadership of Aziza Akhmouch, Head of the Cities, Urban Policies and Sustainable Development (CITY) division. Georges Laimé, former Policy Analyst, co-authored Chapter 1 and 2, and Dorottya Szabó, former Intern, provided substantial inputs to the first draft of the report. Laurence Côté‑Roy, Counsellor, and Soo-Jin Kim, Deputy Head of the Cities, Urban Policies and Sustainable Development Division in the CFE, provided comments on the report. Thanks are extended to the Regulatory Policy Division of the OECD Directorate for Public Governance, particularly Gábor Kisvárdai, Policy Analyst, for commenting on the report.
The report is the result of a policy dialogue between the OECD, the Hungarian Ministry of Regional Development and Public Administration, and the Hungarian Ministry of Energy, with input from more than 100 stakeholders from the public, private and non-profit sectors across levels of government in Hungary. Warm thanks are extended to all stakeholders who participated in the OECD fact-finding mission in Budapest on 31 March-4 April 2025 (see Annex A) and provided written comments and feedback.
The OECD Secretariat is grateful for the commitment and political impetus from the Hungarian Ministry of Public Administration and Regional Development (MoPARD) and the Hungarian Ministry of Energy throughout the policy dialogue. Special thanks are conveyed to Miklós Dukai, State Secretary for Municipalities, and to Eszter Laib, Head of Department, Co-ordination Office for Municipalities, MoPARD, for co-ordinating the policy dialogue across ministries. Warm thanks are extended to Petra Gólya, Eliza Mária Győry, Bettina Lilla Hugyecz, and Tamara Matyi from the MoPARD, as well as Levente Molnár, Ida Nagyné Sós, Zsófia Borbála Székely, and Ágnes Táhy from the Ministry of Energy for providing data, information and comments throughout the policy dialogue.
The policy dialogue benefited from insights from two peer reviewers: Ian Barker, Director of the Institute of Water and former Director of Water, Land and Biodiversity at the UK Environment Agency, and Peter Gammeltoft, Chairman of the Danube Sturgeon Task Force under the European Union Strategy for the Danube Region and former Head of Unit for Water Policy and Legislation at the European Commission. The peer reviewers are gratefully acknowledged for contributing their extensive experience and expertise by participating in the fact-finding mission, sharing international best practices and providing guidance on the report and its policy recommendations.
The report was submitted to the Regional Development Policy Committee on 10 December 2025 under cote CFE/RDPC/WGI(2025)4. Preliminary results were shared at the “ClimAct2Adapt – Acting Together for Climate Resilience” closing conference of the LIFE LOGOS 4 WATERS project on 8-9 October 2025 in Esztergom, Hungary. Special thanks are extended to Jack Waters for preparing the report for publication.