“Every nation has the right to make a sovereign decision on how they wish to live their lives, and the British must also be afforded this right and their decision must be respected, but Hungary would nevertheless be glad if the United Kingdom were to remain a member of the European Union”, Minister for National Economy Mihály Varga said following the opening ceremony of a professional conference.

“The Ministry for National Economy is preparing for all possible decisions and Hungary must examine Britain’s possible exit in the context of foreign trade relations. In the Ministry’s opinion the current 4-4.5 billion euro level of foreign trade flow would be negatively affected by Brexit, but similarly to the case of the Russian embargo, we must concentrate on how to reduce the damage”, he explained, adding that “For the moment it is difficult to forecast the precise legal procedure for Britain’s exit, it is likely to be a long process”.

Mr. Varga pointed out that according to a survey conducted by the Ministry of National Economy, Brexit would reduce Hungarian economic growth by some 0.3 percent in view of our strong foreign trade relation with Britain, but all situations can be adapted to. “Hungary has achieved a strong enough position to be able to withstand and overcome the repercussions of such a move”, the Minister stressed.

(Ministry for National Economy)