Gov't Committed to Recovery of Fiscal Balance - Varga
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Finance Minister Mihály Varga reiterated the government's commitment to returning the budget to the balance path as soon as possible after a meeting of his European Union peers in Brussels on Tuesday, according to a report by state news wire MTI.
Hungary's government targets a 4.5%-of-GDP deficit in 2024. It sees the gap narrowing to 3.7% in 2025 and 2.9% in 2026.
Varga told Hungarian journalists after the Ecofin meeting that the country's economic growth would depend, in large part, on when the war in Ukraine ended.
He noted that the European Commission had lowered its projection for GDP growth in the EU this year to 0.9% from 1.3% in its latest forecast. It puts Hungary's GDP growth at 2.4%, he added.
Hungary's economic performance is around 5% over pre-pandemic levels, compared to a 3.5% average for the EU as a whole, he said.
Commenting on an assessment of social investments by the finance ministers, along with members of the Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council (EPSCO), Varga noted that Hungary had earmarked an annual HUF 3.3 tln for one of the broadest reaching family subsidy systems in the EU.
He said Ecofin had backed the extension of the mandate of IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva.
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