Parliament passes 2023 budget

Hungary’s parliament on Tuesday passed the government’s draft budget for 2023, with 135 votes in favour and 54 votes against.

The budget calculates with a GDP growth of 4.1 percent, a 3.5 percent-of-GDP target deficit, and 5.2 percent inflation.

Finance Minister Mihály Varga said earlier that the government had taken into consideration possibilities of a prolonged war in Ukraine and a resulting crisis.

Meanwhile, the government has pledged to use the budget to assist families, protect pensions, maintain the utility price caps, strengthen security in the country, save jobs and create new ones, as well as to keep the economy on a growth path. The government aims to maintain stability, further improve balance indicators, and maintain a disciplined fiscal policy.

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According to the law passed, central budget spending will amount to 33,426 billion forints (EUR 83.9bn), while revenues will add up to 31,074 billion forints, leaving a deficit of 2,352 billion forints. It sees state debt falling to 73.8 percent of GDP by the end of next year, while the debt is expected to be 76.1 percent at the end of 2022.