BREAKING: Curia annulled Budapest’s 2025 budget! – UPDATED
Based on the information of Index, the Budapest Metropolitan Office has won a lawsuit against the Budapest Municipal Council regarding the city’s 2025 budget. The case centred on the omission of the so-called solidarity contribution—HUF 89 billion (approximately EUR 221 million)—which the Hungarian government had imposed on the capital. As a result, the Curia has annulled Budapest’s budget.
Curia annulled Budapest’s 2025 budget
Index reported that the budget was approved in December 2024 with the support of representatives from Péter Magyar’s Tisza Party, the Dávid Vitézy-led Podmaniczky Movement, the Democratic Coalition, and Párbeszéd. However, it included only HUF 38 billion as a solidarity contribution. Fidesz abstained from voting, while the satirical Two-Tailed Dog Party walked out. At the time, Fidesz representatives claimed the budget was unlawful.
Gergely Karácsony, the Mayor of Budapest, stated that the city would not pay a higher solidarity contribution, arguing that Budapest’s state funding was already insufficient. This, he said, was intended to prevent the capital from becoming a net contributor to the national budget.
Botond Sára, head of the Budapest Metropolitan Government Office, took the matter to the Curia. He argued that refusing to pay the solidarity contribution was unlawful and added that the capital’s local business tax revenues were steadily increasing—meaning Budapest had the financial capacity to pay.
Budapest unable to pay
Ambrus Kiss, the chief director of the Mayor’s Office, stated that Budapest was financially unable to pay the full solidarity contribution.
According to Index, the Budapest Municipal Council will be required to revise its budget after 1 July and increase the amount allocated for the solidarity contribution.
In theory, the purpose of the solidarity contribution is to redistribute funds from wealthier municipalities to support poorer ones. However, opposition-led municipalities frequently criticise the system, arguing that it is unfair and that the use of the redistributed funds lacks transparency.
UPDATE 1: Curia finds Budapest budget above-board
After the Budapest central government office challenged the legality of this year’s Budapest budget, the Curia, Hungary’s supreme court, found the budget and its adoption to have been above-board, the head of the Mayor’s Office said on Wednesday.
Ambrus Kiss noted that the Curia told the Budapest administration of its decision not to annul the 2025 budget decree on Wednesday. The court said the so-called solidarity contribution of 80 billion forints demanded by the national economy ministry must be taken into account when revising the budget, though the court said this did not necessarily impose a payment obligation on the capital, adding that the administration must submit to the court claims related to its lawsuit concerning the disputed amount of the solidarity contribution and plan the budget accordingly from July 1.
Kiss said the capital was unable to pay the 51 billion forint “excessive demand from the government” since this would completely compromise the city’s basic operations. He vowed to accede to the court’s technical request in the course of revising the budget but would request “immediate legal protection against the collection order on May 28”.
Kiss revealed today that the capital is currently running a 41 billion forint deficit. Botond Sára, the head of the central government office of Budapest, in February announced its challenge at the supreme court regarding “the illegal capital budget”, citing the city’s refusal to pay the solidarity contribution.
UPDATE 2: Government office: full amount of the solidarity contribution must be paid
Hungary’s top court, the Curia, has said that Budapest’s budget runs afoul of regulations, as it does not provide for a 51 billion forint solidarity contribution, the head of the central government office in Budapest said in a video on Facebook. Botond Sara said the Curia also ruled that the municipality must amend the budget to provide the deficit.
“The ruling also means that Mayor Gergely Karácsony and his team misinterpreted the Constitutional Court’s earlier decision,” Sára said. The solidarity contribution is not contrary to the Fundamental Law, he said, “and the full amount of the solidarity contribution must be paid, as poorer localities are entitled to it.”
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