The Brexit is an important signal, Minister for National Economy Mihály Varga said at today’s ECOFIN session in Brussels. In the opinion of the Minister, the first ECOFIN meeting that took place after Brexit has made it clear that only strong and sovereign national economies can turn Europe competitive again.

The three thousand British companies that are operating in Hungary want to stay here, Mihály Varga stated, adding that Brexit is estimated by the European Commission and the Hungarian Economy Ministry to reduce the country’s economic growth by some 0.3-0.4 percent in coming years. Hungary’s trade surplus vis-á-vis the United Kingdom accounts for 1.6 percent of GDP, while the share of UK exports within the total export volume constitutes 4 percent. Adverse factors would mainly affect exporting companies, he pointed out.

At the meeting, participating finance ministers agreed that, as a pre-emptive measure to fend off negative Brexit consequences, the efficiency of the banking system should be improved and characteristics of national economies must be better taken into account in the planning of strategic objectives. Structural reforms must accordingly be accelerated, effects on economic disparities must be prioritized, investment barriers must be removed and fiscal frameworks must be improved, Mihály Varga said after the session.

Finance ministers have also discussed the work schedule of ECOFIN for the second half of this year. Mihály Varga stressed that in the post-Brexit period Hungary considers it vital that the work within the European Council, now chaired by Slovakia, focus mostly on challenges that EU citizens are concerned about and on promoting proposals that all member states are interested in.
In this regard, Hungary welcomes priorities set by the Slovakian presidency, such as sustainable migration and refugee policy, the protection of external borders and the strengthening of the Schengen area.

(Ministry for National Economy)