Hungary entering the eurozone in 2021-2022? How is it feasible?

The long-cherished dream of thousands of Hungarians to enter the eurozone seems to be within easier reach than any time before. Although several years of hard work is still ahead of the country in order to meet all the requirements and criterion needed for the introduction of the common currency of the European Union, as Penzcentrum.hu reports, if Hungary has a serious political intention to strengthen its EU bonds, then the economic project can be realised in 2021-2022.

The question of joining the eurozone has already stirred much controversy in Hungary among those supporting a deeper integration in the EU and those who are still waiting for the setup of a sufficiently strong economy. But the real question is whether the introduction of the euro in Hungary is a realistic aim to achieve in the near future, or it rests an aspiration to realise.

As Norbert Szijártó, the junior research fellow at the Institute of World Economics, reported to Penzcentrum.hu, Hungary is compliant with the most crucial technical criterion and the Maastricht convergence criteria, and it also meets the ones concerning the inflation rate, the budget deficit, the long-term interest rates and the debt management. Furthermore, similarly to other countries, like the Czech Republic and Poland, Hungary has constantly satisfied these requirements in the last 2-3 years.

Therefore, the introduction of the euro would be already possible in the middle of 2019 or at the beginning of 2020, but until that time, there is a lot to develop since Hungary still fails to meet the exchange rate stability requirement.

If we decide to take the next step in our EU integration, serious economic measures need to be taken involving the creation of economic stability and the prevention of excessive fluctuations.

As the expert also pointed out, “the European Commission attempts to encourage countries outside the eurozone to enter it and even takes financial measures to support it.”

If prospective Member States have serious intentions about joining the eurozone, then the European Commission still has to make a decision about the amount of financial assistance provided to this project.

The 7-year-long program of the 2021-2027 period, on which a lot depends regarding the future of Hungary, rests to be fixed in the second half of this year.

“In fact, there are two possible economic options: Hungary can either state that it does not intend to join the eurozone when, of course, no financial assistance will be provided, or it can express its intention to join the eurozone, which realistically speaking, might take place in 2021-2022.”

Source: penzcentrum.hu