Hungary to support EU budget changes that benefit country

Ecofin economy meeting
Bécs, 2018. szeptember 7. Az Európai Unió gazdasági és pénzügyminiszteri tanácsának, az Ecofinnek a nem hivatalos bécsi ülésén részt vevõkrõl csoportkép készül 2018. szeptember 7-én. Varga Mihály pénzügyminiszter a második sorban balról a negyedik. (MTI/EPA/Florian Wieser)

Hungary is ready to support changes in the European Union budget that are beneficial to the country, Finance Minister Mihály Varga said on Saturday.

Varga told MTI after talks with EU finance ministers in Vienna that they had discussed the European Commission’s proposals about deepening the Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union.

He expressed support for targets concerning increased investment but added that the proposal does not properly address geographical inequalities and this could weaken the economy and competitiveness of the entire union.

Commenting on the proposal concerning structural reforms and macroeconomic stabilisation, he said it is unacceptable that the planned cohesion policy would further restrict member states’ maneouvering space for planning and decision making on the use of EU resources.

On the proposal about how to tax the digital economy, he said in the short term Hungary supports solutions that do not involve corporation tax harmonisation.

Hungary will make every effort to prevent tax avoidance by IT companies in any EU country, he said.

At Friday’s Ecofin meeting, finance ministers and central bank governors discussed the Austrian presidency’s proposal and a study by the Breugel Institute on the economic potential and risk of crypto assets. The development of a unified European approach is important for EU competitiveness and the free flow of goods and services, he said.

Featured image: MTI/EPA

Source: MTI

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