According to Minister for National economy Mihály Varga who spoke at a press conference held after the Budget had been adopted by Hungary’s Parliament, the 2014 budget is a budget of progress as it will facilitate growth.
He stressed that drafters of the budget had focused on the goal of concurrently creating financial stability and reducing the burdens of households and families. Both objectives are fulfilled, he added, because as a result of utility tariff cuts the burdens of families will significantly decrease in 2014. Some measures aimed at this goal are already introduced, while others are being prepared.
He emphasised that thanks to the extension of the family tax allowance, the introduction of parental benefit extra and preferential student loans which were adopted earlier today, the burdens of families will also get lower.
Among measures which the 2014 budget includes the Minister singled out wage rises for healthcare and welfare employees as well as teachers in 2014. Pension benefits will increase by 2.4 percent next year and thus the Government fulfils the promise of preserving the real value of pensions.
Mihály Varga called it a significant even of the year that in August the country repaid the IMF loan ahead of date and thus the Government has been in the position of making decisions independently with regard to economic policy. He also underlined the fact that Hungary exited the excessive deficit procedure this year.
“These have been the developments which enabled us to draft the 2014 budget with substantially more certainty,” he said.
Speaking about employment, the Minister emphasised that more than HUF 30bn will be spent on the winter phase of the public work programme launched as of October this year.
Next year’s budget also includes the new system of EU funding allocation and 60 percent of resources are expected to be devoted to economic development.
In his opinion, proportionate and mutual burden-sharing, which has been established over the past three years, has been a crucial element of the 2014 budget.
Responding to a journalist’s question the Minister said that the Government shall evaluate the decision of the Kúria -- Hungary’s supreme court – on forex loans, but at any rate efforts must continue to ease the vulnerability of the country and households.
The ultimate goal, he stressed, is unchanged: foreign currency mortgages shall be phased out and further steps shall be taken to assist foreign currency debtors. As Mihály Varga added, the Government is also awaiting a verdict by the European Court of Justice on a Kúria submission regarding the exchange rate gaps and contracts.
He underlined that it was not necessary to amend the budget this year because of utility tariff cuts and it will not happen next year, either.
The Minister pointed out that there is no field within the budget which is expected to receive lower funding compared to this year.
The budget also contains reserves of HUF 220bn which provide sufficient coverage for any decision made during the year.
He stressed that the bill regarding the amendment of the act on financial institutions – which stipulates that the MNB’s official foreign currency exchange rates shall be used for foreign currency denominated mortgages – prevents banks from misusing exchange rate changes or exchange rate differentials.
(Ministry for National Economy)
