Heads up – Embassy 33

Business as usual

Beneath his flamboyant moustache Janos Csak, Hungary’s Ambassador to London, is a businessman to his bone marrow.

As the Hungarian economy emerged from its Communist-era torpor, Csak was at the forefront, involved in the privatisation of parastatals in the telecoms and energy sector, before becoming an investment banker focusing on projects in neighbouring Central Europe.

Now a diplomat, he entered his new career at a gallop, taking on his first-ever job as Ambassador just as Hungary took over the helm of the EU Presidency for the first time. While a relative novice at diplomacy, Csak was on familiar turf when it came to the dominant theme of the presidency: financial stabilisation of the eurozone and setting the rules for economic governance in the future.

Casting a cool businessman’s eye on the outcome, he is satisfied that proper attention will be paid to future growth as well. He is pleased that member states have agreed to stricter economic governance, which may mean closer fiscal harmonisation, but only up to a point, he adds.

“Whenever we think about ways of harmonising nation states we have to be careful how far we go,” he cautions. “It’s not a one size fits all. We have to nurture our appetite for competition that once created Europe as a world leader, while setting rules that reflect what we can sustainably afford. It’s about how the EU institutions allow creative competitive tensions to play out in a constructive rather than constraining regulatory environment.”

Cohesion funds will remain vital to help struggling regions to “measure up,” he adds. “For a strong Europe that can compete vis a vis the likes of China, Brazil and India we have to help each other out and be good neighbours.”

Hungary also brought a Central European perspective to the presidency. As the country at the ‘heart’ of Europe, Hungary wanted to put people at the heart of its presidency by calling for better social inclusion of those currently on the margins of European society, particularly the Romas across Europe, says Csak.

Being at the centre of Europe also means being along crucial transit routes, for energy, transport and communications. As a former chairman of MOL Hungarian Oil and Gas Co, Csak understands how important hard infrastructure is to Europe’s energy security and the efficient working of energy markets, another theme of the presidency.

“The problem with natural gas right now is that there are limited transit routes in Europe. We need more to mitigate risks caused by disruptions in the system,” he says, adding: “It’s also important to create infrastructure that enables a growing gas supply from multiple sources and gas trading that is strategically important for competitive pricing and the economy in general.”

But as with every EU presidency, world events inevitably intervene and in the case of Hungary it was the Japanese earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis – which prompted a re-evaluation of Europe’s nuclear energy – and the Arab Spring in North Africa, which for Hungarians struck a very personal chord, says Csak.

“We Hungarians felt solidarity with the people in North Africa – tyranny poisons every day life; you may not be in prison but there are always invisible walls around you. What is happening in the Arab world is the need to remove these invisible walls,” reflects Csak. “The question always is, what do you want to build in its place? We as Europeans cannot impose our ideals on them – all we can do is support the process and that will take patience, perseverance and institution building, involving as many people as possible.”

Another distraction was the furore over Hungary’s new media law, which some commentators felt would muzzle the free press. The Ambassador, as a keen writer and a one-time publisher of a weekly political magazine, strongly disagrees. And in the context of the phone hacking scandal and intrusions into privacy, he thinks media standards should be raised. “The question is: how do we balance accuracy of the information and entertainment with decency?”

It is a debate Csak will watch with interest in London as he sets about his other priorities, chief among which is doing more business with Britain.

“That’s why my Prime Minister sent me here! His centre-right, business-minded government is a good fit with the Centre-right government of David Cameron. Both believe in growing ourselves out of this economic crisis sustainably.”

And Hungary has a lot to offer a British investor, he says – a good business climate, the quality of the labour force, excellent infrastructure and a diverse, cosmopolitan feel.

Diplomacy, like business, is about “adding value” says Csak, who is looking forward to expanding contacts with Britain in a wide range of areas, from politics, to culture and education.

The two countries share similar mindsets, he says, dating all the way back to the 13th century, when both nations asserted the principles of liberty and the rule of law, with the signing of the Magna Carta in England and the Golden Bull in Hungary.

“Diplomacy is about building chemistry,” reflects Ambassador Csak, “and our two countries have a lot of chemistry!”