HUNGARY holds fifth place in terms of foreign investment rankings in Europe and in the number of jobs created during 2004, according to a report released this week by Ernst and Young, the professional services firm.

While the United Kingdom, with 19.5%, remains the leader in the rankings of identified foreign investment into Europe last year, Hungary gained 4.8% of the total, up from 4.4% in 2003. Though this was behind Poland (at 5.1%), Hungary moved ahead of both Spain (4.2%) and Russia (4.0%) in 2004, the report reveals.

The country also ranks well on a global scale in terms of its international image; an E&Y survey of 670 international executives ranked Hungary 10th in terms of attractiveness for foreign investment, the report reveals.

"We rate this a fantastic achievement, and it shows Hungary still has immense potential [for foreign investment]," said Borbála Czako, head of Ernst & Young in Budapest, presenting the report on Monday (July 11).

In truth, the report was good news for most central European countries, with Poland particularly impressive, including a first place slot in terms of "Considered destinations for expansion or new investment in Europe." However, regardless of the merits of other CEE countries, the report is like manna from heaven for the government, which has endured unrelenting criticism from the opposition Fidesz for what that party says is Hungary's waning competitiveness and a poor economic performance.