In the short term, it is manageable through fiscal re-allocations to provide funding for higher migration-related expenditures on police and national defence tasks, but in case the influx of migrants persists, it may lead to a fiscal amendment, Minister for National Economy Mihály Varga told hirado.hu in an interview.

The Minister pointed out that the Government has spent some HUF 30bn on the reinforcement of the Hungarian-Serbian border, but that amount did not include healthcare, education and defence expenditures.

As Mihály Varga stressed, this year’s central government budget projects a low deficit of 2.4 percent and although the reserves earmarked for extraordinary government measures have been reduced significantly, the Country Protection Fund is still available.

“We must nonetheless look further ahead. Expenditures are rising steadily and we cannot see the end of migrant influx. If it remains like this, fiscal amendment may become necessary,” he added.

Speaking about priorities he said that funding for safety and border control must be increased together, while the stability of the healthcare and pension systems must also be ensured. The Government has made it clear that resources from the Pension Fund cannot be used, therefore re-allocations may not affect pension benefits. Mihály Varga expressed hope that Hungary may obtain external funding, but the European Union should treat migration funding in a more focused manner.

The Minister said that Hungary has received funding from the European Refugee Fund, the European Return Fund, the European Integration Fund and the External Borders Fund. In 2014-2020, projected funding from these funds totals EUR 65 million, but Hungary has already informed Brussels about the current situation brought about by migration-related costs.

In the opinion of Mihály Varga, the EUR 6.7bn disbursed for Hungary as emergency funding is insufficient in light of efforts Hungary exerts compared to other countries.

Concerning the labour market in the context of migration the Minister underlined, “It is time to wake up to the fact that the labour force hoping to come here is not the kind we wish to see.” He also added that the emergence of a different culture “may not necessarily be beneficial” for a community.

The Hungarian economy still has labour force reserves, of which economic demands must be fulfilled at present. The overhaul of the vocational training system focuses precisely on this, the tailoring of the system to the demands of the economy, Mihály Varga emphasised. As migrants are registered, it often turns out that some of them are illiterate and they do not speak languages other than their mother tongue. Accordingly, the host country only faces extra welfare expenditures for a long time instead of receiving labour force.

(Ministry for National Economy)