Support for local councils to increase next year, says Hungarian finance minister

Support available for local councils will increase by 95 billion forints (EUR 238m) next year, Finance Minister Mihály Varga said on Tuesday.

Varga told a press conference after addressing the general meeting of the alliance of cities with county-seat status that the central budget allocation for local councils will total 969 billion forints next year and the councils will have access to some 4,000 billion forints as a whole.

The aim is to make the Hungarian economy and the budget of municipalities crisis resistant even under the current circumstances involving a war in the neighbouring country, Varga said.

Károly Szita, the mayor of Kaposvár, in south-west Hungary, and president of the alliance, told the press conference that the participants had asked government support from Varga for local councils that will be unable to generate enough income to pay for increased energy charges.

Read also Here are the details of the government’s new “extra profit” tax