Varga: Economic downturn smaller than expected

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The economic downturn was smaller than expected last year, it could have been between 5-6% of GDP, Minister of Finance Mihály Varga said at the year-opening event of the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MKIK), according to leading conservative business daily Világgazdaság.

Varga recalled that the second quarter of 2020 saw an unprecedented economic downturn. The minister emphasized that the government would have made a mistake if it had insisted on the strict fiscal policy it had introduced and followed in recent years, therefore about HUF 4 trillion from the Hungarian budget was spent on restarting the economy.

At the same time, he indicated that government debt remained below the EU average and that its structure had changed.

Today, the foreign currency debt ratio is below 20%, while it had been well above 50% before 2010, Varga emphasized.

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