Brexit won’t have big impact on Hungary

If Brexit goes ahead without a trade agreement, the economic impact on Hungary will be negligible, business daily Világgazdaság said on Tuesday.

Hungary-UK cooperation is expected to be extensive in the future, especially in the areas of energy, car making, decarbonisation, AI and green mobility, the UK ambassador to Budapest, Paul Fox, told the paper.

Raiffeisen Bank analyst Zoltán Török said research from 2016 indicates that Hungary’s economic growth may shrink by 0.2-0.3 percentage points in the year after Brexit if there is an agreement.

Hungary’s ties with the UK are closer than those of other countries in the region, with a correspondingly greater impact, though in light of the effects of the coronavirus crisis, the effect could be barely noticeable, he added.

Whereas on the macroeconomic scale Brexit’s impact may be negligible, companies directly affected by Brexit may feel its impact more keenly, he said.