Coronavirus – Orbán: Budget needs radical restructuring

This year’s central budget must be radically restructured in order to manage the crisis caused by the coronavirus outbreak and to revitalise the economy, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said after holding a videoconference with representatives of the government and the economic chambers on Monday.

Orbán said the 2020 budget needs to be adjusted to the current situation and changes forecast until the end of the year.

“For next year, we need to draw up a ‘stripped-down’ budget that will leave the most room for crisis management and revitalising the economy,” the prime minister told senior officials of the central bank, the economic chambers and employers’ associations.

“We must launch the biggest economic stimulus action plan of all time, setting growth, job creation and job retention as our goals,” Orbán said.

Concerning the 2020 budget, Orbán said it would be wrong to implement across-the-board cuts. He said the ministries must retain the resources that are absolutely necessary in their budgets while the funds that can be released should be used to set up funds for crisis management and revitalising the economy.

He also said preparations were under way for drawing up the 2021 budget.

“Together with the central bank, we need to plan how monetary and fiscal instruments can be used in a way as to give the greatest possible boost to the Hungarian economy,” the prime minister said.

The videoconference was also joined by Innovation and Technology Minister László Palkovics.

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Source: MTI