The Government Will Continue Deficit and Debt Reduction

Despite the protracted war and the energy crisis, the government will continue its deficit and debt reduction policy in the coming years, Mihály Varga, Finance Minister said at the Joint Venture Association’s Macro Conference. The Finance Minister stressed that the budget will ensure support for families, maintain public utility protection and preserve the value of pensions, even in the face of extraordinary expenditure.

In his view, the fundamentals of the Hungarian economy are stable, real wages could start to rise again in September as inflation is falling, the trade balance could break records this year and employment remains high. He said that even in a war situation, workplaces were protected, with almost 4.8 million people working in Hungary and an unemployment rate of 3.8%, well above the EU average.

In addition, the minister also stressed that fiscal discipline is key for the whole economy, being the reason for the government’s reduction of the deficit year by year. This may be decreased to 2.9% next year.

We are continuing to reduce public debt also”,

– he said,  and they expect the ratio of public debt to gross domestic product showing improvement by staying below 70% already this year. Varga Mihály praised the government’s measures, as the Hungarian economy could return to a sustained growth path in the second half of this year, as also confirmed by the rating agencies’ expectations.

Via kormany.hu; Featured image via Mihály Varga/ Facebook