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Jobless rate in Hungary in one-year high

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The jobless rate in Hungary for people between the ages of 15 and 74 stood at 4.5pc in November, data released by the Central Statistics Office (KSH) on Friday show. Meanwhile, Hungary’s government sector had a HUF 2,110bn deficit in Q1-Q3, equivalent to 3.5pc of GDP. Furthermore, Hungary had a EUR 742m trade surplus in November, a first reading of data released by the Central Statistics Office (KSH) on Friday shows.

In absolute terms, there were 221,000 unemployed. The number of employed reached 4,679,000 in November, down 32,000 from twelve months earlier. For the period September-November, the average number of employed slipped 36,000 to 4,691,000. The number of people employed on the primary market fell 39,000 to 4,517,000. The number of Hungarians working abroad was little changed at 111,000 and the number of people in fostered work programmes was flat at 63,000.

The employment rate for the 15-64 age group edged down 0.3pp to 75.1pc. Data from the National Employment Service (NFSZ) show there were 225,000 registered jobseekers at the end of November, down 0.5pc from twelve months earlier. Jobseekers spent 11.6 months, on average, looking for work, but 49pc of the jobless found new positions in under three months. The percentage of jobless who had been looking for work for at least one year reached 33pc.

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Photo: depositphotos.com

Commenting on the fresh data, Sándor Czomba, the state secretary for employment policy, said employment remained stably high during the period and attributed the minimal decline from a year earlier to a high base. Hungary’s employment levels, which exceed the European Union average, contribute to an expansion of consumption and economic growth, strengthening Hungary’s competitiveness, he added.

Hungary government sector deficit reaches 3.5pc of GDP in Q1-Q3, says KSH

Hungary’s government sector had a HUF 2,110bn deficit in Q1-Q3, equivalent to 3.5pc of GDP, preliminary data released by the Central Statistics Office (KSH) on Friday show. Government sector revenue rose 8.0pc to HUF 25,205bn, while expenditures increased 4.0pc to HUF 27,315bn.

Revenue from social insurance contributions climbed 13.8pc to HUF 6,189bn and revenue from taxes on production and imports increased 6.3pc to HUF 10,262bn. On the expenditure side, investment spending fell 10.3pc to HUF 1,865bn, but interest expenditures climbed by 11.0pc to HUF 2,898bn. Alone in the third quarter, the government sector deficit reached HUF 621bn, equivalent to 3.0pc of GDP for the period.

Hungary trade surplus reaches EUR 742m in November

Hungary had a EUR 742m trade surplus in November, a first reading of data released by the Central Statistics Office (KSH) on Friday shows. Exports fell 3.5pc year-on-year to EUR 12.582bn. Imports rose 2.3pc to EUR 11.841bn.

Trade with other European Union member states accounted for 76pc of Hungary’s exports and 72pc of its imports during the month. For the period January-November, Hungary had a trade surplus of EUR 11.110bn. Exports fell 3.9pc to EUR 133.924bn and imports declined 5.5pc to EUR 122.813bn.

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Official: Budapest Assembly approves 2025 budget

The Budapest Assembly on Wednesday approved the capital’s budget for next year, setting the total revenue and expenditure at HUF 434,694,876,000.

The proposal, submitted by Mayor Gergely Karácsony, was adopted with 20 votes in favour and 10 against from Fidesz-KDNP representatives. The three members of the Hungarian Two-Tailed Dog Party left the chamber before voting commenced.

The approved budget sets the municipality’s revenue at HUF 422,544,893,000 (EUR 1 022,561,600) and expenditures at HUF 426,269,012,000 (EUR 1,031,564,190), resulting in a deficit of HUF 3,724,119,000 (EUR 9,012,300). This shortfall will be covered using leftover funds from previous years. An additional HUF 7,466,009,000 (EUR 18,067,622) has been allocated for loan repayments.

The budget also assumes that Budapest will only pay as much of the solidarity contribution next year as it receives from the state in support for its municipal responsibilities.

budapest assembly karácsony gergely
Photo: Facebook/Karácsony Gergely

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Will Budapest approve a budget for 2025? Assembly divided, accusations of chaos and mismanagement

A Democratic Coalition (DK) member of the Budapest city assembly has said his party will vote to approve the capital’s 2025 budget, adding that whoever failed to green-light the city’s financing would back “Fidesz’s interest in sowing chaos”.

Without next year’s budget, Budapest’s public services, its transport system and theatres would cease to function, while the city’s 27,000 employees would not get a wage rise from Jan 1, Sándor Szaniszló, the leader of DK’s group in the assembly, told a press conference before the Budapest plenary on Wednesday, noting that an agreement between the trade unions and the capital on wages has been reached.

Budapest Assembly 2025 budget
The meeting of the Budapest Assembly on 18 December. Photo: MTI/Kocsis Zoltán

Meanwhile, DK will vote to reject the central government’s plan to recategorise Budapest’s four big railway stations to the benefit of “a circle of friends” of the national ruling Fidesz party, which he called a “real estate scam”. Instead, 89 hectares of the land surrounding the stations should be set aside to build affordable rental apartments for young people, while the rest should be devoted to creating green spaces, he added.

Opposition Tisza Party representatives also expressed support for the budget on condition that the assembly adopted an amendment proposal by the party. The group said it disagreed with “several points” of the budget, but added that they were “aware of the historic responsibility” attached to its passage, if their amendment “aimed at facilitating an early review of the budget” were also passed.

According to Tisza, ruling Fidesz and the government were about to “betray” Budapest “and all Hungarians”, while Fidesz group leader Alexandra Szentkiralyi and Prime Minister Viktor Orban were “preparing to steal tens of billions of forints from the people of Budapest; they want to steal our railway stations and airport.” In its statement, Tisza accused the government of “systematically making the life of two million people in Budapest impossible for years”.

The government’s insistence that Budapest pay the full solidarity tax to the central budget in 2025 would leave no money in the city’s coffers to finance city services, it added. “If the city gave in to the blackmail of Viktor Orban and Alexandra Szentkiralyi, public transport would come to a halt, theatres would shut down, and welfare institutions and municipal companies would not be able to pay their staff,” the statement said.

Szentkirályi: Budapest assembly planning to adopt ‘unlawful bankruptcy budget’

Budapest city assembly “is planning to cap the year with an unlawful bankruptcy budget”, Alexandra Szentkirályi, the leader of the Fidesz-Christian-Democrat group, said in the assembly on Wednesday.

Referring to her previous tenure as a deputy mayor of Budapest, Szentkirályi said in her speech before the commencement of the assembly’s business that she had been confronted by how little anything had changed for the better in the past five years. At that point the city was “developing, much cleaner and far more orderly”, she insisted, and the capital had reserves of more than 200 billion forints. Now, the city continues to lack deputy mayors and “operates unlawfully”, she added.

“And now, if I’m not mistaken and I’m interpreting how things are going correctly, [assembly members] want to cap the year with an unlawful bankruptcy budget,” she said. Szentkirályi said Budapest should be allowed to function properly and lawfully. Fidesz, she added, was “working to solve the housing crisis”.

She noted Fidesz lobbying for a “student city” and a Healthy Budapest Programme, and she mentioned numerous developments thanks to the central government. Referring to the left-liberal majority in Budapest, she said the city’s leadership had presided over a financing curve that had started with 200 billion forints in reserves and sunk to a budget shortfall of 50 billion.

She appealed to members of the assembly to consider what was more important, “politics, deals, pacts, future elections, or managing Budapest residents’ lives and affairs smoothly. For us it’s certainly the latter.”

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Orbán cabinet: Budget resources to climb for all important areas in 2025

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Raising support for families and strengthening businesses are the most important goals of next year’s budget, Gergely Gulyás, the head of the Prime Minister’s Office, said at a weekly press briefing on Thursday.

Supporting families, strengthening businesses

Gulyás said the government’s budget bill contained additional resources for all important areas. Lawmakers are set to take the final vote on the bill on Friday, December 20, he added.

Tax allowances for families raising children will double over a year, while the Demján Sándor Programme will make HUF 1,400bn available for scaling up SMEs, he said. The 2025 budget ensures the resources necessary to maintain the system of regulated prices for household utilities, while it will raise the value of pensions, adjusted for inflation, and guarantee the country’s physical security, primarily against illegal migration, he added.

He said HUF 3,750bn was earmarked for family support, HUF 3,717bn for healthcare and HUF 3,876bn for education. The 3.7pc-of-GDP deficit target is realistic, he added, auguring a reduction of the gap to under 3pc in 2026.

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Hungarian finance minister: Budapest Declaration reaffirms importance of competitiveness

With the approval of the Budapest Declaration on the New European Competitiveness Deal in November, the Hungarian presidency of the Council of the European Union affirmed the importance of competitiveness, Finance Minister Mihály Varga said ahead of a meeting of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council in Brussels on Tuesday.

Budapest Declaration

Varga also highlighted the approval of the 2025 EU budget and the VAT in the Digital Age package among the successes of the Hungarian presidency.

He told journalists that the ECOFIN meeting, the last under the Hungarian presidency, would review the overall economic situation in the EU, debate the state of play of the energy taxation directive and discuss the recovery and resilience facility.

After the meeting, Varga said Hungary’s half-year EU presidency had achieved success in the endeavour to boost European competitiveness, pointing to the Budapest Declaration and the new VAT package as well as significant advances in customs reform and the capital markets union.

Varga Mihály Budapest Declaration reaffirms importance of competitiveness
Photo: Facebook / Varga Mihály

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Karácsony: New budget ensures Budapest pays no more than it receives

Mayor Gergely Karácsony Summer Olympic Games in Budapest Hungarian opposition

Budapest’s budget for next year has been drafted “to retain [the city’s] self-determination and resources”, Gergely Karácsony, the capital’s mayor, told a press conference on Wednesday.

According to the mayor, the draft was made under the assumption that “Budapest will pay as much solidarity tax to the central budget as it receives from central coffers to finance its services.”

Karácsony insisted that the central budget was aimed at “furthering shrinking” municipal governments by adding further funding cuts. “The capital’s budget has been drafted in response to that,” he added.

When drafting its budget, the city “did not assume that it could retain its net payer position”, the mayor said, adding that “under a Constitutional Court ruling the city would pay as much solidarity tax as much funds it will receive under the normatives, not a penny more.”

“We’re not going to budget any excess tax payments that could be confiscated from the city,” Karácsony said. Even with those possible payments not included in the budget, the city’s finances “will be extremely tight”, he added.

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Orbán says Romania is a testing ground for social media platforms used in a campaign

Orbán says Romania is a testing ground for social media platforms used in a campaign

Orbán said the government’s earlier pledge of a one million forint average wage had been received by “a choir of the sceptical” but he said it had been no different from the reception of the government’s 2010 announcement of efforts to create one million new jobs.

“They said it was impossible, still, compared to 3.7 million employed at the time now we have 4.7 million people in employment… Hungary can achieve the one million forint average wage,” he said.

The prime minister suggested that companies should strive for efficiency and higher productivity to be able to offer the higher wages. He also added that the government was open to proposals by the chamber of commerce aimed at tax cuts, better vocational training and programmes to increase the efficiency of companies.

Hungarians in Romania must have parliamentary representation, Orbán says

Meanwhile, Orbán said that at the parliamentary elections set for Sunday, Hungarians in Romania will have to “make sure” that they have representation in the national assembly. “Without parliamentary representation it is impossible to promote the interests of the Hungarian community in the whole of the Carpathian Basin,” he added. If ethnic Hungarians had “appropriate weight” in the Romanian parliament they could make the Hungarian government’s job easier, facilitating assistance to them from Hungary.

Orbán says Romania is a testing ground for social media platforms used in a campaign
PM Orbán with PM Ciolacu in Budapest. The Social Democrat leader could not get into the second round. Photo: MTI

He said Hunor Kelemen, the head of the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (RMDSZ), had “held his own” in the first round of the Romanian presidential election, representing not just ethnic Hungarians but the entire nation.

He said the Romanian presidential election campaign had demonstrated how modern technology connects with voters, adding that the kind of social media platforms used in a campaign and how they influence voters was a “very exciting and undetermined question”.

“Romania is a testing ground for this, and we can draw the various conclusions and determine whether we have any work to do in preventing such problems in Hungary,” he said.

Hungary will get peacetime budget in 2025

On another subject, the prime minister said the “peacetime” budget bill submitted by the government opened the door to a new economic policy.

He said the draft budget being debated in parliament assumes that US President-elect Donald Trump can end the war. This is why, Orbán said, the government could implement a large minimum wage increase, roll out credit for young blue collar workers, launch a scheme for strengthening SMEs and introduce measures to ensure affordable housing and support young people.

Orbán said Hungary was capable of making use of the opportunities presented by peace, adding that “we won’t waste a single moment”.

Struggles with the EU

He added, at the same time, that the government would have to carry out these measures “in opposition to the European Union”.

“We’re locked in simultaneous struggles with the European Union on the issues of economic policy, migration and child protection,” the prime minister said. “The point of the National Consultation survey is to strengthen Hungary’s position in this struggle and to be successful in fighting these battles.”

He said the end of the war would mean peace, peace would mean security and security would bring a “good economy”.

But, he said, the EU was “constantly blocking and attacking Hungary’s economic policy”. He said he fended these off and wanted to “protect Hungary from these decisions in Brussels”, adding that this required a fight, which required strength and support. “We’re in the opposition in Brussels,” he added.

Orbán said the implementation of the migration pact would be “fatal” for Hungary.

He also said the hearing of the lawsuit aimed at scrapping Hungary’s child protection law was under way at the European Court of Justice. He said there was a political party that would allow same-sex couples to adopt in Hungary. “This is completely at odds with the child protection law,” Orbán said, adding that “we have to win the battles against Brussels.”

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  • PM Orbán nominated new Hungarian National Bank governor, forint strengthening, government change comes – details HERE
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Only once in 22 years has the October general government deficit been bigger than now

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The Finance Ministry released preliminary data on Monday showing that Hungary’s cash flow-based general government deficit reached EUR 7.45bn (HUF 3,050.5bn) at the end of October.

At the end of the month, the central budget had a deficit of EUR 7.44bn (HUF 3,048.5bn), the social security funds were HUF 199.0bn in the red, and separate state funds were HUF 197.0bn in the black.

Alone in October, the general government deficit came to EUR 1,04bn (HUF 427.0bn).

“The impact of unfavourable circumstances in the global economy can be felt in Hungary’s economic performance,” the ministry said.

“After a temporary slowdown, Hungary’s economy will be on a sustained growth path and could be at the forefront in the European Union growth ranking in 2025, providing the foundation for a strengthening fiscal balance,” it added.

Interest expenditures came to HUF 3,198.5bn in January-October, climbing by HUF 899.6bn from the base period, the ministry said, noting that the fall in forint interest rates started in 2023 was showing up in cash flow-based interest expenditures with a delay.

It added that interest expenditures will show a “clear decline” from 2025.

Budget spending on EU-supported projects reached HUF 1,299.6bn in January-October, while transfers from Brussels reached just EUR 2.44bn (HUF 999.8bn).

The ministry reaffirmed the government’s commitment to improving balance indicators and bringing the general government deficit down to 4.5pc in 2024, 3.7pc in 2025 and to under 3pc in 2026.

As we wrote today, Hungary’s 2025 economic action plan unveiled, €9.8 billion to counter economic downturn

read also: Forint strengthened, but the EUR/HUF exchange rate may exceed 500 in 2025

Hungary’s 2025 economic action plan unveiled: €9.8 billion to counter economic downturn 🔄

Budapest Parliament Hungary Danube

Although the figures and economic analysis clearly do not indicate that the government made good economic decisions in 2024, ministers now see 2025 as the big window of opportunity to emerge from the economic crisis.

The Hungarian Government’s economic policy in recent years has not shown any positive signs, with the weakening forint and inflation showing huge problems even in the most straightforward figures, and Orbán’s fight against the EU not helping Hungarian households. However, the government’s optimism has not waned, with the 2025 budget coming, which will now really boost the Hungarian economy, ministers say.

Varga: 2025 budget one of ‘new opportunities’

The government’s 2025 budget is one of “new opportunities”, Finance Minister Mihály Varga said on Monday, ceremoniously submitting the bill to lawmakers in parliament.

Varga said the “peacetime” budget reflected the government’s new economic policy. He added that outlooks were encouraging, with a “good chance” for the world to move toward peace based on the results of the United States elections.

Varga said Hungary’s GDP would grow in 2024, as higher wages boosted consumption. Based on forecasts from international institutions, Hungary’s GDP growth in 2025 could put the country among the frontrunners in the EU, he added.

The government aims to put the economy back on the growth path, while higher wages leave more money with families and SMEs are strengthened, he added.

read also: Forint strengthened, but the EUR/HUF exchange rate may exceed 500 in 2025

Varga said the budget bill aimed to support families, strengthen businesses, maintain the regulated utilities price system for households, preserve the value of pensions and ensure the country’s physical security.

The budget bill targets a 3.7pc-of-GDP general government deficit, while assuming GDP growth of 3.4pc and 3.2pc average annual inflation. Gross interest expenditures are set to reach 3.8pc of GDP.

Varga noted that the Fiscal Council had delivered a positive assessment of the budget bill and said all conditions were in place for fiscal compliance with conditions stipulated in the constitution.

Defence spending is targeted at HUF 1,753bn, or 2pc of GDP, in line with a pledge to NATO.

Spending on border protection, which has climbed to HUF 800bn since 2015, will rise by another HUF 40bn in 2025. Policing expenditures will increase to HUF 1,396bn.

The budget bill earmarks HUF 3,574bn for families with children, HUF 447bn more than in 2024. A dedicated fund for maintaining the regulated system of utilities prices has been eliminated from the budget, but HUF 880bn has been allocated for the purpose.

Pensions spending is set to grow to HUF 7,200bn, including the cost of an annual pensioners’ bonus, equivalent to a full month’s pension.

Spending on education has been raised by close to HUF 500bn to HUF 3,876bn, and HUF 3,717bn has been allocated for healthcare.

Varga noted that sectoral taxes on airlines, pharmaceutical companies and telecommunications companies had been phased out, while the advertising tax would be suspended for another year.

Reserves in the budget come to HUF 100bn.

Janos Latorcai, the deputy speaker of parliament, said the bill would be debated over 30 hours on November 27-29. The deadline for submitting changes to the bill will be 4:00 in the afternoon on November 28, he added.

The final vote on the budget is slated for December 20.

Fielding questions, Varga said the government had no exchange rate target, but the budget assumed a “technical” exchange rate of 397.5 forints to the euro. Deviations from that rate are “not a problem”, he added.

A new economic policy plan could mobilise EUR 9.8bn

The government’s recently unveiled economic policy action plan could mobilise around EUR 9.8bn (HUF 4,000bn) next year, including over HUF 2,600bn for households and HUF 1,400bn for businesses, National Economy Minister Márton Nagy said at a conference organised by think tank Századvég on Monday.

Nagy said Hungary’s GDP growth was expected to reach 0.7pc in the fourth quarter and continue to climb in the coming year. The government’s 2025 budget bill assumes GDP growth of 3.4pc, he added.

He augured a gradual improvement in external factors and said vehicle and battery production were expected to climb already on a month-on-month basis.

read also: LATEST – Bad news came from the Hungarian economy again: industry in trouble

UPDATE

Nagy said the government’s new economic action plan aimed to boost purchasing power, ensure affordable housing, and scale up SMEs with the Demjan Sandor Programme.

He added that the government expects the minimum wage to rise to EUR 1,000/month and the average wage to reach HUF 1m/month by 2028.

He said wage convergence needed to be based on economic growth and suggested SMEs could manage a 4-5pc increase in real wages next year by boosting productivity and consolidating.

He said around HUF 1,465bn of the HUF 2,632bn targeted for families in the action plan would come in the form of interest payments on retail government securities. He added that some HUF 3,000bn of household spending could go to the home market or be used for consumption.

The government estimates that young, blue-collar workers could take out HUF 500bn of subsidised credit next year, while doubling the tax allowance for families raising children could provide households with an additional HUF 75bn, he said. He added that HUF 300bn of voluntary pension fund savings could go toward home purchase or renovation.

A support scheme for home renovation in the country’s smallest settlements will add up to HUF 25bn, while households spend HUF 25bn of their SZEP voucher card balances on home renovation, he said.

Nagy said that out of the HUF 1,400bn earmarked for the Demjan Sandor Programme, EU-funded programmes for SMES account for HUF 650bn of the total.

He also pointed to the impact of a HUF 100bn capital programme for SMEs, HUF 150bn of Szechenyi Card investment credit, a HUF 350bn loan programme to boost the exports of SMES and HUF 50bn of funding supporting companies making foreign investments.

Hungarian government: ‘peace budget’ ready after Trump’s victory, parliament to discuss it on Monday

Hungary's peace budget submitted (Copy)

The Fiscal Council said the government’s 2025 budget draft was “credible” and “feasible”, while highlighting some risks, in an opinion issued on Thursday.

Fiscal Council about the so-called peace budget

The Council said the 3.4pc GDP growth assumed in the budget draft was achievable, but pointed to risks posed by the war in Ukraine and European sanctions. Lower than anticipated growth could put the 3.7pc-of-GDP general government deficit target at risk as budget revenue underperforms, it added.

The Council said the targeted reduction in state debt to 72.6pc by end-2025 from 73.2pc at the end of 2024 was “realistic”, but noted that sensitivity to exchange rate risk had increased as the ratio of FX debt approached 30pc.

In a separate statement, the Finance Ministry acknowledged the Council’s opinion and said the 2025 budget bill would be submitted to lawmakers on Monday.

Hungary's peace budget submitted (Copy)
Photo: FB/Mihály Varga

The Hungarian parliament accepted the annual budget almost a year before in the last 14 years. That means the 2024 budget was accepted in 2023 May. The only exception was 2025 when the Orbán cabinet said they would only submit the budget after the American presidential elections. That is because the Orbán cabinet believes only Trump can bring peace to Eastern Europe, so a peace budget can only be drafted if he is the president starting next January.

Finance Minister Mihály Varga addressed the Figyelő Top 200 gala

Finance Minister Mihály Varga addressed the Figyelo Top 200 gala in Budapest late Thursday. Varga said the performance of the country’s business sector had been “impressive”, adding that the annual revenue threshold for inclusion on the Figyelo Top 200 list had climbed to HUF 90bn from HUF 35bn ten years earlier. He added that Hungary’s economic success was supported by the government’s policy of cooperation in the domestic economy and connectivity on external markets.

He said the government’s Eastern Opening policy had brought record FDI to the country. Assessing the results of the United States elections, Varga said Donald Trump’s victory could advance international processes supporting peace, limiting migration and improving the appraisal of national sovereignty. He added that improved relations between Hungary and the US could pave the way for the reinstatement of the double taxation avoidance agreement between the countries that was unilaterally terminated by the Democratic Party administration.

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Hungary’s parliament to start debating 2025 draft budget in mid-November

Budapest parliament winter Hungarian flag

Speaker of Parliament László Kövér said on Monday that parliament is expected to start debating the 2025 draft budget in mid-November and approve it in mid-December.

Kövér told Inforadio that a precise date was not yet available, but he was certain that the budget would be approved before Christmas.

Changes to parliamentary procedures meant that the detailed professional debate of the draft budget will take place in the budgetary committee. The plenary session will then vote on the amendment package adopted by the committee, and party groups will be able to propose plenary votes “on a few amendments not featured” in the package, Kövér said.

He also said that the hearing of the new central bank governor is expected to take place during the spring term. Should the head of one of the economic portfolios be nominated, and the two ministries merge, then parliament will have to decide only about the name change for the ministry, he added.

The government’s legislation agenda contains 20-30 entries, mostly aiming harmonisation with EU legislation and amendments of long-standing laws, he said. The election system will not be changed, except for a modification of electoral districts warranted by demographic changes since they were drawn in 2012, he added.

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Orbán promises to increase wages and family subsidies

Hungarian government reports deficit increase, minister sees positive impact of inflation figures

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Major cuts announced in Orbán’s 130-point austerity plan

Sovereignty Protection Research Institute Orbán government

In a significant financial shift, the Orbán government has decided to scrap or drastically reduce funding for a wide range of projects, including plans for a new Student City, improvements to the Budapest-Belgrade railway, ambulance procurement, and even the renovation of the iconic Chain Bridge.

A 130-point austerity decree

The government issued a 130-point decree in the Hungarian Gazette, bearing Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s signature, outlining various cost-saving measures that will affect multiple sectors. The cuts primarily involve halting or scaling back additional state support for major ongoing projects, Népszava reports. A recurring phrase throughout the decree, “No further central budget funding is required,” clearly signals the government’s intention to tighten the purse strings. Some initiatives have been scrapped altogether, while others will receive significantly less funding than initially planned.

Student City, Chain Bridge, Opera House affected

Opera-House-Budapest classical culture
Orbán’s planned austerity measures affect the Hungarian State Opera House as well. Photo: FB

Among the affected projects is the Student City development in Budapest, where the government has decided against allocating more funds to acquire the necessary properties.

The historic Chain Bridge and the Buda Castle Tunnel are also losing out, with no more financial support for their reconstruction or the surrounding public areas.

The Hungarian State Opera House, led by Szilveszter Ókovács, is another casualty, with its operational funding also being slashed.

Cuts have extended to Hungary’s cultural memory initiatives as well. The government’s previous commitment to open the House of Fates Holocaust Memorial for Child Victims has been revoked, as has funding for the Museum of the Victims of Communism. Even projects related to genealogical research and family history have seen their budgets shrink.

Bad news for MÁV, medical research and clinical trials

Travel time from this Hungarian city to Serbia will be much higher than promised (Copy)
Photo: MÁV/FB

For Hungary’s national railways (MÁV), the decree brings more bad news. A previous decision to fund the assessment of non-essential railway land has now been reversed. Transportation projects in the Városliget area have also been halted, with no further investments planned for the region.

The healthcare sector hasn’t been spared either. The government has shelved its Health Industry Strategy and withdrawn funds earmarked for medical research and clinical trials. Ambulance procurement and local production of ambulances will see major cuts as well, with the government now canceling a previous allocation of over HUF 2.2 billion (EUR 5.6 million).

These are just a few highlights from Orbán’s 130-point decree, which affects numerous sectors with austerity measures aimed at reducing the government’s financial commitments.

Opposition DK calls on govt to abandon ‘austerity‘

The opposition Democratic Coalition (DK) has accused the government of planning to usher in an “austerity package” containing 130 measures. At an online press briefing on Saturday, DK lawmaker László Varjú demanded its withdrawal and charged the government with “entering a spiral of austerity”. “Just as the country is on the point of defending itself, the Orban government is attacking it, stripping families of money and opportunities”.

He accused the government of plotting to prevent local authorities from buying ambulances, to withdraw funding for renovating village byways, and to take away financing from Budapest just when it is fighting the current flood wave. Varjú  insisted that more than 4 billion forints was being ploughed into religious education. “So the money’s there, but it isn’t being used for the right purposes,” he said.

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Orbán promises to increase wages and family subsidies

Viktor Orbán refugee camp

A draft of a budget for peace-time has been prepared, “we will raise wages and family subsidies”, the prime minister said in a Facebook post on Sunday, after addressing an annual picnic meeting in Kötcse, in southern Hungary, on the previous day.

Orbán’s plan

“We have an action plan. Although it has not been presented or announced yet, we haven’t put it under political work yet, but we usually refer to it as a peace-time budget and it is already in the drawer. This is more or less the case, and if [central bank] Governor [György] Matolcsy doesn’t force us to do so, then we will not have to pull it out ahead of time,” Viktor Orbán said.

The prime minister said that a 3-5 percent economic growth target for 2025 was at the centre of the draft budget. A budget must be drawn up that, in addition to preserving the financial balance – which is necessary because of the credit rating agencies and the entire financial world – is able to produce a 3-5 percent growth, he said.

“This is the basis for everything, and I think we can manage this,” Orbán added.

He said “dynamics” were needed when it came to wages. Employers and employees are in “very dynamic” talks about next year’s wages, Orbán said.

“The government is trying to stay out of this, but apparently unions will agree on a large-scale wage increase with employers, which the government will seal; and obviously they want to involve our money, but this is now beside the point ….but a series of negotiations are taking place at the moment about a significant minimum wage increase for years to come,” Orban said.

The prime minister noted “dynamic” wage increases in some areas, such as health care, adding that the biggest teacher wage increase in the history of Hungary was also taking place, which would continue next year.

He pledged to increase the value of family subsidies, arguing that “high inflation has gobbled up their value”.

“After 2020, when troubles caused by Covid began, we could not increase subsidies at a pace to keep up with the rate of inflation, but this must be compensated now,” he said and added that the tax-credit available to those raising children must be doubled in 2025.

The prime minister said that Márton Nagy, the national economy minister, was making good progress in launching a programme to support small entrepreneurs that was modelled on the one-time Széchenyi Plan.

The core of the scheme Orbán said was that “if you invest one forint, we will match it also with one forint”. “So, a programme aimed at including small and medium size businesses, not big ones, is also in place,” he said, adding that implementing such an economic action plan required “a coordinated economic policy”.

“The more we listen to the governor of the central bank, the more we feel as if we were moving in the opposite direction, but this is only an illusion. We in fact are moving at a proper pace towards a well-coordinated system for managing the country’s economy,” Orbán said.

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Fidesz asks Brussels to stop financing the war in Ukraine

fidesz mep tamás deutsch

Rather than continuing to finance the war and expand the power of the Brussels bureaucracy, the 2025 European Union budget should promote peace, sovereignty and the interests of Europeans, families and nations, the MEPs of ruling Fidesz said in a statement on Thursday.

Tamás Deutsch, the head of the Fidesz-Christian Democrat delegation, has submitted a comprehensive amendment proposal regarding the 2025 budget in the name of his Hungarian ruling-party delegation and the Patriots for Europe party group, the MEPs said in a statement.

Fidesz MEP Deutsch: This is a flawed budget

fidesz mep tamás deutsch
Fidesz MEP Tamás Deutsch. Photo: MTI/Purger Tamás

In its draft EU budget for 2025, the European Commission plans to commit 199.7 billion euros, pay out 152.7 billion, and borrow 71.8 billion, the statement said. Deutsch called for “fundamental changes to the deeply flawed budget”. “Rather than promoting illegal migration, the budget should support border protection, finally protect Europe and the Europeans, and take help to where help is needed,” he said.

The group’s MEPs have called for border protection costs to be raised by 2 billion euros, and have proposed earmarking funding to cover the expenses Hungary has incurred protecting the border, the statement said. The “absurd” fine imposed on Hungary “for stopping migrants at the border” should also be deducted from that sum, they added.

It was time that the EU’s budget supported national sovereignty rather than “institutionalised political blackmail, rule-of-law jihad and gender and woke madness … while generously financing the Soros network”, Deutsch said. “We have proposed significantly cutting monies enabling the ideological blackmail of member states by 170 million euros,” he said.

The Fidesz MEP also called for a budget aimed at “bringing home the development, Erasmus and R+D funding Hungary is entitled to, instead of further exploiting the country. We propose raising cohesion funding by 10 percent, or 2.8 billion euros, and freezing 5 percent of the frameworks, some 1.5 billion euros, to ensure that the monies Hungary is entitled to is not used for other purposes or in other countries.”

The delegation also proposed raising funding for the Erasmus programme by 23 million and R+D funding by 700 million euros, he said. “We also proposed freezing some 100 million euros to ensure that Hungary’s monies are not spent elsewhere,” he said. Funding for the integration of the Western Balkans should be raised, as well as resources for young farmers and beekeepers, he said.

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Hungary to build new Danube bridge with a budget of EUR 1 billion

new danube bridge with huge budget

The Hungarian government has issued a decree to allocate funding for the construction of a new Danube bridge near Mohács and the accompanying road network. According to the decree, the total budget for the project is set at HUF 389.3 billion (approximately EUR 1 billion).

A new Danube bridge with a huge budget

new danube bridge with huge budget
PrtSc: Facebook/Pávkovics Gábor

Most of this huge sum will be spent between 2025 and 2029, while HUF 2 billion (EUR 5.1 million) will be allocated this year, Telex reports. In 2030 and 2031, HUF 100 million (EUR 255 thousand) will be earmarked each year to finalise the project. Construction and Transport Minister János Lázár has been authorised to begin spending the initial HUF 2 billion in 2023. Lázár discussed the bridge during a guest appearance at the Semmelweis Summer University, and a video of his remarks is available online.

Talks about building the Mohács Danube bridge have been ongoing for decades, but only recently has the project reached a stage where it is close to realisation. The project involves three main components:

  1. A new bridge over the Danube River,
  2. A 2×2 lane road connecting the bridge to the M6 motorway to the west,
  3. A 2×1 lane road linking the bridge eastward to Route 51, which will require the construction of a 19-kilometer stretch of new road.

The bridge will include two floodplain viaducts and a river bridge, with a total length of 756 meters. A 2×2 lane road will run across the bridge, with an adjacent bicycle path.

László Szíjj, the 6th richest Hungarian, behind the project

In April, it was announced that business tycoon László Szíjj, linked to the government, would oversee the construction of the bridge. At the time, the net cost was projected to be HUF 294 billion (EUR 749 million), which aligns with the current gross figure of HUF 389 billion. Out of this amount, the state will recover around HUF 100 billion through VAT.

Other construction firms like Strabag and Swietelsky submitted bids for the bridge, offering net proposals of HUF 309.96 billion (EUR 790 million) and HUF 316.03 billion (EUR 805 million), respectively. Last December, Minister Lázár estimated the bridge would cost between HUF 300 and 320 billion (EUR 764 and 815 million).

The plans for the new bridge, its connection to the M6 motorway, and the road network with Route 51 were developed by Speciálterv Építőmérnöki Ltd., under the direction of the National Infrastructure Development Plc. (NIF). According to the company’s website, the steel bridge will cover a total area of 18,000 square meters.

Once completed, the Mohács bridge will be the 21st bridge over the Danube within Hungary’s borders, following the Kalocsa Danube bridge, which is nearing completion and is expected to be inaugurated later this summer.

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Economic cabinet: Hungary needs ‘peace budget’

peace budget hungarian parliament

The government’s economic cabinet has discussed a package of measures, including family tax breaks and support for home purchases, aimed at supporting economic recovery, the national economy ministry said on Wednesday.

The measures also include a vocational training credit for Hungarian 17-22 year-olds, allowing household savings for buying homes tax free, and various subsidies for investments by small and medium-sized firms.

They agreed that increasing support for families, small businesses and youth living in rural areas would underpin a fast rate of growth.

The draft measures will be submitted at a full cabinet meeting in September.

According to Világgazdaság, the Economic cabinet said Hungary needed a so-called ‘peace budget’ to reach the above-mentioned goals.

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Vote on Budapest community budget proposals!

Budapest mayor withdraws public transport changes in the capital

Votes can be submitted about Budapest residents’ proposals for city development and budget planning until 7 October, the Budapest mayor’s office said on Thursday.

All persons aged above 14 who live or study in Budapest are invited to cast their votes online at otlet.budapest.hu or in person at various Budapest libraries and at the Budapest mayor’s office customer service desk. A registered Budapest address is not required to be eligible, the statement said.

Some 700 proposals were submitted last year, 175 of which have been selected by a professional jury and the votes can now be submitted on these proposals, it added.

The most popular proposals will be carried out from a total allocation of HUF 1 billion (EUR 2.5 million), it said.

Over the past three years, the Budapest city council carried out 17 public proposals submitted under the scheme.

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Good news? Budget deficit narrows in Hungary

orbán happy interview

Hungary’s cash flow-based budget deficit narrowed to 2,443.3 billion forints (EUR 6.1bn) at the end of July on a 213 billion forint surplus for the month, the finance ministry said in a preliminary release of data on Thursday.

The central budget had a deficit of 2,473.2 billion forints at the end of the month and the social security funds were 138.5 billion in the red, but separate state funds were 168.4 billion in the black.

The ministry attributed the July surplus to government measures taken this year improving the room for fiscal manoeuvre by around 1,000 billion forints.

Interest expenditures came to 2,217.0 billion forints in January-July, up 700.9 billion forints from the same period a year earlier.

Revenue from taxes and contributions climbed 9.9 percent from the base period.

The ministry affirmed the government’s commitment to improving balance indicators and said the 4.5 percent of GDP deficit target for the year was achievable.

“With the improvement of fiscal room for manoeuvre, the economy will return to the sustainable growth path,” it said.

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