Gergely Gulyás, Head of the Prime Minister's Office, has confirmed that the Hungarian government will submit the 2024 draft budget to parliament on May 30, with a vote scheduled for July 7.
Gulyás said that despite the challenges surrounding the drafting of the budget such as the ongoing war in Ukraine, the government is keeping to its practice of submitting the budget bill during parliament’s spring session. This ensures predictability and sets the government’s economic policy goals for next year, he added. The budget aims to guarantee the country’s security, protect families, pensions and jobs, as well as the cap on household utility bills, Gulyás said. It must calculate the possibility of a protracted war, but it is important that the government’s goals are maintained and that the budget deficit and the public debt are reduced, he said, adding that the draft budget will target a deficit of 2.9% of GDP. The government plans to submit the draft budget to the Fiscal Council around May 20, he said. The bill was drafted with the war in mind, Gulyás said, adding that peace and a phasing out of sanctions would greatly increase the budget’s room for manoeuvre, making the country’s situation much easier.
Photo credit: MTI