Maintaining disciplined budget justified, says Fiscal Council head
Maintaining a "very disciplined budget" and monitoring whether the deficit target of 4.5 percent of GDP can be sustained is justified, the head of the Fiscal Council said in an online talk on Tuesday.
Gabor Horvath noted that Hungary reduced its public debt-to-GDP ratio by 0.6 percentage points last year. While certain European Union member states were able to make bigger cuts to their debt, 10 countries saw a rise in their public debt, and now there are 13 member states that are failing to comply with the EU’s debt rule, he said.
Hungary’s public debt level is below the EU average, but exceeds those of its regional competitors, Horvath said.
Noting the Fiscal Council’s three-year outlook, Horvath said that keeping GDP growth over 4 percent in the long term required restoring balances and comprehensive competitiveness-related reforms.