Hungary’s cash flow-based budget, excluding local councils, ran a 1,842.4 billion forint (EUR 5.7bn) deficit at the end of November, the finance ministry confirmed in a second reading of. The deficit reached 135.4% of the 1,360.7 billion forints full-year target.
The 2.4%-of-GDP deficit target for the full year, calculated according to the EU’s accrual-based accounting rules, is “achievable” alongside economic growth that is “expected to be well over 4%”, the ministry said.
Repeating its statement to the first reading, the ministry noted that government pre-financing for European Union-funded projects reached 1,737.4 billion forints by the end of November, while transfers from Brussels came to 574.6 billion forints. Expenditures were also lifted by a 41.2 billion forints top-up of pensions linked to economic growth and continued funding for developments such as road renovations and projects that are part of the Modern Cities Programme, it added. Within public finances, the central budget ran a 1,856.1 billion forints deficit in January-November, the social security funds were 26.1 billion forints in the red and separate state funds had a surplus of 39.8 billion forints. Alone in the month of November, the budget ran a 164.3 billion forints deficit.