Hungary’s new government has confirmed its ambition to join the eurozone by around 2030, with Prime Minister Péter Magyar arguing that adopting the euro would bring greater economic stability and prevent future governments from repeating what he described as the fiscal mistakes of Viktor Orbán’s administration.
Euro adoption back on Hungary’s agenda
Hungary has set a target of meeting the conditions for joining the eurozone by around 2030, Prime Minister Péter Magyar announced after talks in Budapest with Eurogroup President and Greek Finance Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis.
Magyar described euro adoption as one of his government’s key economic objectives, saying that fulfilling the Maastricht convergence criteria would itself strengthen Hungary’s economy by improving stability, restoring investor confidence and making the country more predictable for businesses.
According to the prime minister, Hungary currently does not meet any of the requirements for adopting the common currency. He noted that when the country joined the European Union 22 years ago, it was in several respects closer to joining the eurozone than it is today.
“Future governments could not do what Orbán did”
Speaking at the joint press conference, Magyar argued that joining the eurozone would protect Hungary from irresponsible fiscal policies in the future.
He claimed that once Hungary adopts the euro, no future government would be able to repeat what he alleged happened under former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s administration. Magyar compared the previous government’s economic management to “a father gambling away the money saved for his children’s education”, accusing it of spending public funds on prestige projects, allowing inflation to erode savings and presenting misleading figures about the country’s finances.
He said the eurozone’s fiscal rules would make such practices impossible.
Public finances remain the biggest challenge
Magyar acknowledged that reducing Hungary’s budget deficit and public debt will be the most difficult hurdles on the road to euro adoption.
However, he rejected suggestions that austerity measures would be necessary. Instead, he argued that tackling corruption, restoring investor confidence and ensuring that European Union funds are used transparently for productive investments would be sufficient to improve the country’s fiscal position.
Finance Minister András Kármán echoed this assessment, saying that progress on reducing public debt and the budget deficit would also make it easier to satisfy other convergence criteria, including lower interest rates.
The government also announced changes to Hungary’s budget planning process. Kármán said Parliament will receive a comprehensive review of the 2026 budget by the end of August, while the 2027 budget is expected to be submitted by the end of October. He added that the government is returning to the previous practice of presenting budgets in autumn rather than in spring, arguing that the former Orbán governments introduced budgets too early and repeatedly had to revise them later.
Strong public support for the euro
Magyar said support for joining the eurozone now stands at around 70–75%, claiming it is the highest among EU member states that have not yet adopted the common currency.
He argued that attitudes have shifted significantly in recent years as many Hungarians have associated remaining outside the eurozone with economic instability, unpredictable policymaking, high inflation, declining living standards and weaker foreign investment.
A recent Medián poll appears to support this trend. According to the survey, around three-quarters of Hungarians back adopting the euro, while 22% would like Hungary to replace the forint as soon as possible. Only 23% believe the country should not prioritise introducing the common currency at this stage.
EU says Hungary still has work to do
Despite the government’s ambitions, the European Commission’s latest convergence report concludes that Hungary currently fails to meet any of the formal criteria required for euro adoption.
The government nevertheless insists that meeting the Maastricht requirements by around 2030 remains an achievable long-term objective and says the process itself will help strengthen the country’s economic foundations.
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