Talks with the International Monetary Fund and European Union are expected to be concluded in autumn this year, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on Wednesday.

Orbán told reporters that the negotiations were progressing, though there were some differences of opinion on both sides.

’Naturally, there are differences in viewpoints and opinions, but I see the will on both the Hungarian and on the other side to reach a deal’, Dow Jones Newswires reported.

It also reported that the deal could be concluded without sacrificing the 300-billion-forint job protection plan, which the government says will be financed by extra tax revenue from a transactions duty on banks.

Orbán said the government will respond to IMF and EU proposals in order for talks to resume after the initial round which started in July. The government response would be drawn up over the next two weeks, he specified.

Mihály Varga, chief negotiator with the International Monetary Fund and the European Union said at the year opening ceremony of the Budapest Corvinus University that there would be no obstacle to pursuing talks with the IMF.

(Prime Minister’s Office)