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Deficit target IMF's only expectation, says Orban

2010-07-21

Hungary will meet its deficit target of 3.8pc of GDP in 2010, but this is the only concrete expectation which the country must fulfill under its agreement with the IMF, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on the sidelines of a meeting of Visegrad Four heads of government in Budapest on Tuesday.

How the country is to meet the target is exclusively a national responsibility, Mr Orban said.

The IMF and the EU suspended talks with the government on Hungary's financial aid package late Saturday.

    National Economy Minister Gyorgy Matolcsy said on Monday the missions from the IMF and EU supported the government's goal to meet the 3.8pc-of-GDP deficit target for 2010 and bring the gap under 3pc in 2011, but they did not approve of an extraordinary financial sector tax that is expected to generate HUF 200bn in 2010.
    "They don't like the bank levy, however, this HUF 200bn of the bank levy will consolidate the Hungarian budget," Mr Matolcsy said.
    Mr Orban told a journalist at the meeting on Tuesday that he did not wish to intervene in questions related to the markets.
    "The markets ... will react as they react," he said.
    The prime minister added that there was only one thing markets would have to calculate with, and that is Hungary would fulfill its international obligation.

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Deficit target IMF's only expectation, says Orban