The Economic and Financial Affairs Council of the European Union (Ecofin) has approved the proposal of the European Commission to abrogate the excessive deficit procedure (EDP) against Hungary, Minister for National Economy Mihály Varga announced.

The decision has been made thanks to a series of consolidation measures which convinced the Commission that Hungary has taken effective action regarding the correction of the excessive deficit, which was only 1.9% of GDP in 2012. In 2013, the deficit is forecast to reach 2.7% of GDP, and thus to remain well below the 3% of GDP Treaty reference value.

According to the Minister’s earlier statement, in 2013 Hungarian economic policy is focusing on fostering economic growth. Technically speaking, the economic recession has stopped in Hungary.

The decision is especially positive because EU requirements and the interests of Hungarians seem to correlate, since our economic policy has put an end to the wasting of future resources and the cycle of indebtedness of the Hungarian people

On 29 May, President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso announced that the European Commission had recommended Hungary's removal from the EDP, which it has been under since joining the European Union in 2004. The Commission came to the conclusion that Hungary had managed to make the necessary adjustments and that the deficit will be 2.7 percent of GDP this year and 2.9 percent in 2014.

The decision of the European ministers of finance and economy has officially put an end to the procedure.

(Ministry for National Economy)