Hungary celebrated the 25th anniversary of its accession to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) at an event in Budapest on Tuesday.
Speaking at the event, Finance Minister Mihály Varga said the OECD offered “genuine assistance” by making recommendations to support economic development “that take into consideration member countries’ interests and are shaped with fact-based analysis”.
This is “especially important” as Hungary has frequently been the target of “subjective, politically motivated” criticism from the European Union, he added.
Varga called the recent international agreement on a global minimum corporate tax “an OECD success”,
adding that the deal was reached after negotiations “based on mutual respect”.
OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann called Hungary’s economic development since the country’s OECD accession “a success story”. He said Hungary’s rate of economic growth is among the fastest among OECD members and highlighted the country’s “especially low” jobless rate and high rate of employment.
Meanwhile, the Socialists warned of growing poverty among pensioners. The gap between pensions and wages is growing, and a growing number of Hungarian pensioners are experiencing poverty, the Socialist head of parliament’s welfare committee said on Tuesday.
Lajos Kórózs told an online press conference that at the end of 2019,
as many as 270,000 pensioners were among the poorest ten percent of Hungarians,
going up from 26,000 in 2010. Pensions are “polarised”, and the system has become “rigid” so very few can choose early retirement, he said.
While 11.2 percent of GDP was spent on elderly care in 2010, that ratio fell to 8.3 percent by 2019, he said. Meanwhile, “there is plenty of money for prestige investments,” he added. Should the opposition come to power at next spring’s general election, the Socialists would ensure a more flexible retirement system and launch a pension correction scheme, he said.
Read alsoIs the price of groceries really skyrocketing in Hungary?
Source: MTI
If you would like to support the work of the Daily News Hungary staff and independent journalism,
please make a donation here
please make a donation here
Hot news
Top Hungary news: snow covered Hungary, regime change in Budapest parking, forint free fall – 22 November, 2024
THE ranking: Győr’s Széchenyi István University among the top science universities
Hungarian minister proud that both German and Chinese battery plants are built in Hungary
Here are the top Hungarian cities for expats seeking a new home
Drugs situation in Budapest serious, leading politician says
“Hungarian Iron Dome” deployed near the Ukrainian border, expert says Putin will attack Hungary
1 Comment
The Soviet EU cannot handle a free, democratic, safe independent country like Hungary.