Hungary now targets its 2020 budget deficit, calculated according to the European Union’s accrual-based accounting standards, at 2.9 percent of GDP, according to a report submitted by the Central Statistical Office (KSH) to Eurostat.
Finance Minister Mihály Varga said late in March that Hungary would not be able to achieve its target of 1 percent of GDP this year due to the impact of novel coronavirus.
Forint Reaches Another Negative Record at 369.59 against Euro
But the shortfall would likely be kept to below the 3 percent threshold stipulated by the EU’s Maastricht criteria, he said, adding that the budget has more than 400 billion forints (EUR 1.09bn) in reserves, leaving sufficient room to manage a 3 percent deficit. But if the economy needs to be restarted, the deficit could be higher, he added.
In the featured photo: PM Viktor Orbán and Finance Minister Mihály Varga working on the “budget overhaul” for 2020 and 2021. Photo via Mihály Varga’s Facebook page