The Prime Minister believes it would be disastrous in Hungary’s current situation if we attempted to achieve economic growth at the expense of a rise in state debt. Viktor Orbán spoke about this in the morning show of the public service radio.

Under the present circumstances, we must answer the question of whether economic growth may result in a higher budget deficit in the negative, he said.

If Hungary’s state debt were at the Bulgarian state debt level of 16 per cent, or even at that of the Polish of 55 per cent, we could consider raising funds within the economy, at the expense of a 5 to 10 per cent state debt increase, that permit growth, he said, pointing out, however, that the Hungarian state debt was in excess of 80 per cent „in consequence of the inheritance of the past”, and we have to date only been able to reduce this rate to 77 to 78 per cent. „Under these circumstances, it would be disastrous for Hungary to grow whilst believing that it only undertakes a temporary increase in its debt; in actual fact, it would manoeuvre itself back into a debt trap, and in the current situation in Hungary, we must not generate growth at the expense of an increased state debt”, the Prime Minister warned.

He also mentioned that the Hungarian Government is of the opinion that the European Union should not have joint revenues as our task is „not to reinforce the Brussels bureaucracy and budget but to reinforce the individual states; their budgets, their revenues, their overall operation”. If Brussels begins to collect taxes of its own, it will end in a bureaucratic Europe „we shall inadvertently turn into a United States of Europe”, that the electors did not decide on, he continued. He then stressed, it would be a Rubicon-type change if we made it possible for the EU to collect significant funds directly.

According to Viktor Orbán, the formerly concluded fiscal pact cannot be replaced with a growth pact; it can only be supplemented at most. Hungary, he said, should be recognised and praised for being one of the 3 to 5 countries this year and also next year who are simultaneously able to increase their competitiveness and to reduce their debt. „The bare minimum that we are entitled to is fair treatment and the cancellation, the invalidation of the former unfair decision concerning the suspension of the funds that are due to us”, the Prime Minister said.

(Ministry of Public Administration and Justice)