Hungary

Hungary’s 2020 budget deficit soars on December spending spree

cde.news desk 11 January 2021, 14:40 · 1 min read

epa08924798 Exterior view of the facade of the Mucsarnok Kunsthalle ('Hall of Art') in Budapest, Hungary, 25 June 2020. The gallery reopened its doors to the general public on 25 June after being closed for almost three months due to restrictions imposed by the government in a bid to slow down the spread of the pandemic COVID-19 disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. EPA-EFE/ZOLTAN BALOGH HUNGARY OUT

BUDAPEST (Reuters) – Hungary’s preliminary December budget deficit surged to a record 2.25 trillion forints due to sharply increased spending before the end of the year, boosting the 2020 deficit to 5.549 trillion forints, the Finance Ministry said on Monday.

In 2019 the full-year budget deficit came in at about 985 billion forints.

Last year Hungary spent some 614.7 billion forints on medical equipment alone related to the coronavirus pandemic. Expenses related to EU-funded projects were at over 2.025 trillion forints. Funds from the EU totalled just over 1.684 trillion forints.

The Finance Ministry said Hungary’s 2020 budget deficit could come at around 9% of GDP.

(Reporting by Krisztina Than)

Filed under Corporate Dispatch Hungary

Topics Deficit Hungary

Hungary’s 2020 budget deficit soars on December spending spree

More from Hungary

Andras Baka elected as Hungary’s next president

Hungary amends constitution to impose eight-year limit on prime ministers

Hungary Halts Work Visas for Citizens of Philippines, Georgia and Armenia