Hungary prepared to negotiate a loan of 20,000 million euros
The Hungarian Government is ready to start negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Union (EU) on a loan which could amount to 20,000 million euros, said cabinet spokesman, Peter Szijjarto.
The spokesman said that the government is ready to start negotiating “at any minute or any second,” according to the agency MTI Magyar.
The conservative government of Viktor Orban announced last December that will enter into negotiations with international organizations to access a loan of 20,000 million euros, in order to stabilize the economy.
The European Commission (EC) conditions the credit of the controversial reform laws adopted by the Government to limit the central bank independence and the authority responsible for data protection, as well as conducting the retirement age for judges age 62.
So far Budapest amended the laws relating to the Central Bank and the data protection authority.
The EC, after starting in January infringement proceedings against Hungary in such matters, is now analyzing the responses from the central European country.
Meanwhile, the minister responsible for negotiations with international institutions, Tamás Fellegi, yesterday began informal consultations in Washington with representatives of the IMF.
In mid-March, the EU announced the suspension of delivery to Hungary of 495 million euros of cohesion funds from January 1, 2013, as punishment for its excessive deficit.
This measure would take effect if Budapest is not sound fiscal measures taken to correct the deficit level, which is below 3% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
The Hungarian government forecasts a deficit of 2.5% by 2012 and in 2013 also hopes to keep the deficit below 3%, but the EC expects a deficit of 3.25%.
Category: Money
