Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry conference was held in Budapest
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Budapest, February 28 (MTI) – The prime minister, economy minister and central bank governor all stressed the importance of improving Hungary’s competitiveness at an event on Tuesday organised by the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MKIK).
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said that in the next couple of years the country’s economic growth must remain in the range of 3-5 percent, and after 2020 it would have to exceed 5 percent. “We have to stick to the path we are on,” he said, adding that a turnaround in competitiveness would have to be implemented. For this to happen, the economy must be protected from “threatening dangers” that are posed by the EU when it comes to the tax system and support for job creation, he said.
The prime minister said he did not support the idea of tackling Hungary’s shortage of skilled workers by adopting a guest-worker scheme. He said he had reservations about any kind of scheme to employ guest workers. Foreign workers should only be employed on a case-by-case basis and for a pre-determined period, he said, adding that he did not want the country to drift towards the point whereby only foreigners carry out low-skilled jobs. From the point of view of the national strategy, such a state of affairs would not be desirable, he added.
If Hungary’s economy is to avoid the growth trap of mid-field developed countries it must get serious about its competitiveness, György Matolcsy, the central bank’s governor, said.