Hungary is committed to keeping its budget deficit below 3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), the level set by the European Union, Zoltan Csefalvay, state secretary at the economic ministry, told a committee of European Parliament on Wednesday.

Early in February the Hungarian government informed the European Commission in a letter about new economic adjustment measures aimed at keeping the deficit down. The measures worth a 0.4-percent deficit cut would secure that Hungary meets the required deficit target, in view of the Commission's own forecast of a budget deficit of 3.25 percent of GDP in Hungary this year, Csefalvay said.

Csefalvay said he hoped the Commission would find proof that the Hungarian government's measures are adequate steps for controlling the deficit. 

The European Commission last week proposed to freeze cohesion funding to Hungary in 2013 due to the country's failure of addressing its excessive budget deficit.

On the subject of Hungary's pending talks with the International Monetary Fund and the EU on a financial safety net, Csefalvay said talks could start as soon as the EC had finished assessing Hungary's response to the questioned contained in infringement procedures launched against it.

He told the committee it was the interest of all sides to start and conclude talks as soon as possible.

He said he trusted that Hungary's responses to measures the EC had called for as conditions to talks would be satisfactory.

He said that Hungary's request to the IMF and the EU is for a precautionary deal, which is not to do with the country's liquidity. He added that the deal would serve the purpose of stabilising the currency exchange rate and reducing yields.

(MTI)