Gen govʼt deficit edges up to HUF 2.270 tln at end-September

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Hungaryʼs general government deficit, excluding local councils, reached approximately HUF 2.270 trillion at the end of September, edging up HUF 9 billion from a month earlier, the Finance Ministry said in a preliminary release of data on Thursday, state news wire MTI reports.
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The central budget had a nearly HUF 1.842 tln deficit and the social insurance funds were HUF 441.8 bln in the red, but the separate state funds had a surplus of HUF 13.3 bln.
The deficit has swelled this year because of pandemic defense spending, economic stimulus, and pre-financing for European Union-funded projects.
The ministry said spending on medical equipment necessary for pandemic defense came to HUF 581.4 bln by the end of September.
Payouts for European Union-funded projects reached HUF almost 1.501 tln, while transfers from Brussels came to just HUF 909.4 bln.
The government has been pre-financing EU-funded projects for years to avoid backups and ensure all available monies are used up.
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