During a presentation of the draft budget to lawmakers, Finance Minister Mihály Varga said the 2022 budget is devoted to relaunching Hungary’s economy.
Minister Varga said the fact that the budget is being submitted as early as the spring will in itself help to kickstart the economy, adding that the action plan to get the economy’s ball rolling was modern Hungary’s biggest economic program ever and would help everyone affected by the epidemic make a recovery.
The minister said budget funds will be channelled towards helping anyone who has lost a job back into the labor market and every entrepreneur who has been forced to shutter their business to restart and even develop it, adding that the budget focused on supporting families and businesses, investments that create jobs, as well as developments in healthcare and higher education.
The minister noted that the government targets an economic growth of 5.2 percent, with a deficit target of 5.9 percent of GDP and public debt of 79.3 percent. Fully HUF 7,308 billion (EUR 20.3bn) is pencilled in to restart the economy. The draft 2022 budget is HUF 483 billion larger than this year’s. In order to manage risks, a HUF 233 billion reserve fund has been set aside in the budget.