All conditions in place for successful ECOFIN meeting, minister says

Mr Varga said all EU member states would be represented at the meeting, at ministerial or state secretary level, and all member states’ central banks would send top officials. He added that the heads of the IMF, OECD and EBRD, and the VP of the EIB would also participate along with representatives of EU institutions.

He noted that a number of European leaders had suggested boycotting the meeting, taking place in the framework of Hungary’s presidency of the Council of the EU, adding that such efforts were “unworthy and unfortunate”. “Because of ideological and political differences, the always constructive Hungarian position has not been reciprocated by everybody,” he said.

The Hungarian government remains committed to dialogue, he said, adding that efforts to scuttle the meeting had failed.

He stressed that Europe faced big challenges in the areas of economy and competitiveness, and addressing those required the efforts of all member states. He said the informal ECOFIN meeting would focus on financing for the green transition, demographic changes, and EU support for the debt management of low-income countries.

Touching on demographic challenges, a priority of Hungary’s EU presidency, state secretary for families Zsofia Koncz pointed to Hungary’s one-of-a-kind system for supporting families established over the past 14 years. She said prenatal baby support loans, expanded home purchases subsidies, mortgage relief, PIT exemptions for mothers of four, subsidies for purchases of vehicles by big families, pre-school developments and childcare support for grandparents were among the measures the government had implemented.