As Hungary does not have time to wait for Brussels to approve its post-pandemic recovery plan, the government will use credit to finance its own 2,500 billion forint (EUR 7bn) recovery programme, the minister said at the Jasz-Expo and Festival in Jaszapati, in central Hungary.

Hungary can continue debating Brussels regarding the recovery plan, “but we are entitled to these funds, Varga said, adding that once the disputes had been settled and Hungary receives the money, it would be able to pay it back quicker.

The aim is to keep Hungary on a growth path and preserve the economic achievements of the past years, Varga said. “The crisis made it clear that the good governments are the ones that are the quickest to react, and that is what the Hungarian government did,” he said.

Varga said Hungary had been one of the fastest growing economies prior to the outbreak of the pandemic.

The country’s annual growth rate averaged 4.1% between 2014 and 2019, while the European Union average growth rate was 2.1%.

Hungary had a balanced budget and the public debt was reduced from 80% to 65% of GDP, he said.

Varga noted that Hungary’s economy grew by 4.6% in 2019.

In the second quarter of 2021, growth exceeded pre-pandemic levels, the minister said, noting that only six EU countries had accomplished this feat. Industrial output was up 17% in the first half of the year, Varga said.


MTI  Photo: János Mészáros