U.S. Worried by 'Negative Trends' in Hungary

The top U.S. diplomat in Hungary warned Friday "negative trends" have taken hold in the EU member, days after Washington issued entry bans on six government officials it suspects of corruption.

"All the reports are showing negative trends, we want to stop these trends as we are good allies," U.S. charge d'affaires Andre Goodfriend told a news conference in Budapest on Friday. "You can see the line going downward".

"Hungary has made a transition from being a country that was ahead of the others," he said, highlighting "the weakening of rule of law, attacks on civil society, (and) a lack of transparency".

Goodfriend said that the travel bans announced by the State Department last week on six unnamed individuals were based on "credible information" that they were involved in corrupt activities.

Budapest has insisted it is unaware of the details and has urged the U.S. government to identify those on the banned list and share its evidence.

Since sweeping to power in 2010 right-wing Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has long been accused of eroding democracy in former communist Hungary, most recently through raids on non-governmental organisations.

U.S. President Barack Obama in September singled out the country, together with Egypt, as places where "endless regulations and overt intimidation increasingly target civil society".