If Hungary can achieve constant economic growth by relying on its own resources and by improving economic efficiency over the next few decades, catching up with Austria will no longer be “just a pipe dream”.

Hungary should stabilise its budget by 2020 as funding from the European Union begins to dry up by then, said. Kovács said the revenue and expenditure sides of Hungary’s budget have been in balance since 2009/10 and the budget deficits are generated by the public debt interest payments.

In 2010, the budget deficit was at 1.3 trillion to 1.4 trillion forints (EUR 4.2- 4.5bn), but has since been cut by over one third but less than half, he said. He said the budget balance is improving because the interest burden of public debt is decreasing and because the economy is growing.

Kovács said fiscal discipline and measures to whiten the economy contributed to Hungary’s stronger economic growth.

The installation of online cash registers alone improved the budget balance by 500 billion forints, he said.

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