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VARGA: EU FUNDING DEAL 'CLOSER'

 

When the government’s commitments to the European Union are enforced, disputes with the EU over the recovery fund are expected to be resolved by mid-November, the finance minister has said.
As well as the economic crisis owing to the Covid pandemic and the war in Ukraine, political disputes are also having a major effect on Hungary’s economic policy, Mihály Varga told a conference of economists. One such dispute is EU pressure on Hungary in respect of the recovery fund, he said. Varga said the government would have to amend next year’s budget. While 2022 and 2023 are expected to be “difficult years”, there is reason to hope that Hungary’s economic growth will be back on track by 2024, he added. The government’s budget deficit is expected to be around 6.1% of GDP this year, up from the previously targeted 4.19%, owing to additional gas purchases to ensure the necessary reserves, he said. Inflation, skyrocketing prices of energy resources and raw materials, this year’s drought, and migration “show that the decade ahead will not be easy”, Varga said. “Those crises point to an unprecedented loan and financing crisis,” hitting countries with high debts the hardest, he added.