A balanced and stable euro-zone continues to be important for Hungary, Minister of Finance Mihály Varga said, following an ECOFIN meeting in Vienna.

Hungary has always supported the timely conclusion of a banking union, including the introduction of safety nets, the Minister said. At the meeting, participants discussed the potential early introduction of a common safety net within the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) and the related decision-making mechanism, Mihály Varga noted.

Speaking of Hungary’s standpoint, the Minister said that the financial stability of the euro-zone was in Hungary’s interest although we were a member state outside of the common currency bloc, and the introduction of the safety net would ensure long-term stability.

This would require an amendment of the existing inter-governmental agreement and Hungary supports negotiations on the technicalities related to this, he said.

In the elaboration of the decision-making timeline of the safety net member states from inside the eurozone, which countries are also members of the banking union, and those from outside of the bloc must be treated as equals, he stressed.

At the session, topics discussed earlier at the Eurogroup meeting were also outlined, of which the issue of the efficient distribution on labour and products markets was on top of the agenda, as this may be a key factor for improving the EU’s competitiveness.

(Ministry of Finance)