Here is when the euro could arrive in Hungary

Márton Nagy, Minister for Economic Development, revealed that the government has serious plans to purchase Budapest Airport.

The minister covered several topics in his interview given to Index, including, among other things, the airport purchase and the introduction of the euro in Hungary.

Repurchase of Budapest Airport

Márton Nagy told Index that after the recent acquisition of Vodafone, one of the country’s largest mobile operators, the state is now planning to acquire Budapest Airport. He said that he is leading the negotiations for the purchase and that discussions have already begun. According to him, the acquisition of the airport is “a matter of national strategy.”

As recalled in a summary article by napi.hu, the airport has been in private hands since 2005. Previously, it was owned by the state. Now the state wants to regain majority ownership. The minister called the privatisation a huge mistake of the previous government, something that should be corrected as soon as possible.

The minister could not provide more details about the acquisition to Index. And, in particular, he could not estimate how much the majority stake would cost. However, napi.hu drew attention to the fact that the purchase of the airport was also raised two years ago. At that time, the press reported a purchase price of HUF 1,600 billion (EUR 4.2 billion).

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Introduction of euro in Hungary

Index also asked the minister about the possibility of Hungary adopting the euro in the future. According to the minister, it is clear that Hungary would be better off handling economic crises if the country was in the eurozone. However, he stressed that the introduction of the euro should be considered in the long term. As he explained, the euro would still be there when there is no crisis, “and from then on it is a question of economic competitiveness.” The government is cautious about the idea of adopting the euro mainly because “an independent monetary and surveillance policy can help the economy catch up.” The euro could be introduced when Hungary reaches 90-95 percent of the EU average GDP per capita in purchasing power parity terms, the Hungarian minister concluded his answer.

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Source: index.hu, napi.hu