Programs & Events 2009
The U.S. State Department and the Marshall Center Hold a Counter Corruption Conference in Budapest
The George C. Marshall Center and the U.S. Department of State co-sponsored a "Counter Corruption Conference" in Budapest on January 13-14, 2009. The goal of the conference was to increase awareness of a wide range of U.S. Government and international organizations programs and resources, including those of the U.S. Departments of State and Defense, that are available to host governments and foreign militaries through U.S. Embassies in Central and Eastern Europe, the Balkans, and Caucasus regions.
Some 100 attendees, including government representatives from 8 neighboring countries and U.S. officials, participated in the conference. Speakers included Colonel Dr. Karl-Heinz Rambke, Director, Outreach Programs Directorate, George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies; Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Central and Northern Europe, U.S. Department of State, Ms. Judith Garber; Hungary's Ministry of Justice State Secretary Dr. Dezső Avarkeszi; and Mr. Miklós Marschall, Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia, Transparency International International Secretariat, among others, and they discussed the economic, political, and social implications of corruption.
Ambassador April Foley was the keynote speaker. In her speech, she noted that the World Bank Institute estimates that a conservative total for the annual global cost of bribery is about US$1 trillion. This measures the extent of bribes paid from the private sector (firms and individuals) to the public sector.
