According to the parties’ concordant intentions and pursuant to their agreement, informal talks were held by the delegations of the Hungarian Government, the International Monetary Fund and the European Committee on 15 December 2011 in Budapest.

The meeting was of outstanding significance as the positions were made clear, and now the Hungarian Government can prepare for the future talks with knowledge of the standpoints.

As instead of a formal negotiation round, the meeting was merely informal, its coming to end cannot be considered as an interruption of the process. A few days ago the Hungarian Government received the official position of the European Central Bank regarding the legislation on the National Bank of Hungary, and the content of and recommendations made in ECB’s letter are under currently being processed and incorporated.

The Hungarian delegation continues to be available for discussions without preconditions, and offers the IMF and EU experts the opportunity to reconcile content, the elements of cooperation and the financial, macro-economic and political implications of the future agreement. Regarding the form, size and conditions of the protective network to be provided by IMF and the European Union an agreement may be reached as a result of a negotiation process.

(Tamas Fellegi Minister Without Portfolio Head of the Hungarian Government Delegation)