“Next year’s budget will be more transparent”, Minister of Finance Mihály Varga declared in an interview for weekly business magazine Figyelő.

In this week’s edition of the paper, published on Thursday, the Minister also spoke about the fact that the question has arisen that the debate on the 2021 budget bill could be postponed until the autumn session of Parliament. He added that it is, however, not worth giving up the competitive advantage that has accumulated for the Hungarian private sector over the past five years, which manifests itself in the fact that in Hungary transparency and the ability to plan ahead appears much sooner for all participants of the economy, enterprises and households than in other countries.

In reply to a question concerning to what extent the 2021 budget will be different from previous ones, Mr. Varga said some amendments had been made to the budget’s content. “We have made the structure of the budget more transparent: the number of rows included in the document will be halved in 2021. However, content is more important than form: next year’s budget will be the budget of economy protection”, he underlined.
“One of the pillars of the budget will be the three thousand billion forint (EUR 8.68 billion) Healthcare and Anti-Epidemic Protection Fund, which will provide resources for the secure financing of the most important areas of healthcare expenditure. Its other main pillar will be the 2550-billion-forint (EUR 7.38 billion) Economy Protection Fund, which will accumulate the financial resources necessary for protecting and recreating jobs. This fund will provide the collateral for promoting investment, developing and maintaining the road network, and providing funding for innovation”, the Minister explained.

“We have made an effort to include as large as possible a reserve in the 2021 budget, equalling half a percent of GDP; the 270-billion-forint (EUR 781 million) central reserve cannot be regarded as small”, Mr. Varga underlined. The Minister of Finance highlighted two large investment projects from among the many state investments: the construction of the Budapest-Belgrade railway line, and the Paks 2 Nuclear Power Plant project, adding that the Hungarian Village and Healthy Budapest programs will also be continuing, as will the Modern Cites Program aimed at supporting Hungary’s county capitals.
“We have every reason to be optimistic; following the successful handling of the danger posed by the epidemic, Hungary could also be more successful than other countries in handling economic scenarios”, he pointed out. “The opportunity is given for economic growth to be rebuilt faster than in other places. The loan repayment program, the tax measures and the job protection programs have all proven to be effective”, he declared.

“We may calculate with the fact that we reached the statistical trough in April, and that an improvement and the recovery of the economy will be increasingly felt in May and June. In view of the two lost months and the gradual return to normal, we expect there to be a 3 percent economic downturn this year”, he added.

With relation to the job market, the Minister said: “The goal isn’t for the jobs to be rebuilt within the public sector, but this doesn’t exclude the possibility that increased unemployment could be redirected to state institutions and companies that were experiencing labour shortages prior to the crisis, in an effort to reduce it”.

(Ministry of Finance/MTI)