Hungary has recorded significant achievements since 2010 and data confirm that the Hungarian economic model has been successful, Minister for Economic Regulation Béla Glattfelder said at the conference entitled “A European success story: economic growth without austerity – the Hungarian model” held in the building of the European Parliament.

The Minister of State pointed out that Hungary’s economy has been expanding since 2013, the economy’s structure has been becoming sounder, the upward economic trend is sustainable and the rate of growth reached 3.6 percent in 2014. According to preliminary data, Hungarian GDP grew by 3.4 percent in the first quarter of 2015, an outstanding figure even from an international perspective. Labour market trends have also been improving: the unemployment rate has been declining, the number of people in employment has been on the rise and wages in real terms have also increased. Béla Glattfelder stressed that the Government has substantially contributed to the improvement of Hungary’s competitiveness through gradually shifting the focus of taxation from taxes on income to taxes on consumption.  The Minister of State added that on the production side the industrial sector has performed impressively: in the period 2010-2014 industrial sector output was more than 10 percent higher. In Q1 2015, tourism within the market services sector and retail sales have also posted growth. The volume of investments has also been a major factor behind the performance of the Hungarian economy in 2014.

At the conference, among the presenters were former PHARE minister Imre Boros and Századvég Foundation Research Director Balázs Orbán.

(Ministry for National Economy)