Budapest - Spa
Hungary will stick to its deficit target of 3 per
Cent this year despite being pushed into a \"very dangerous situation\"
in the past three months by the eurozone crisis, Prime Minister
Viktor Orban said on Monday, according to dpa.
Addressing a meeting of Hungary\'s diplomatic corps in the capital
Budapest, Orban warned that the country is facing a battle for its
sovereignty and must avoid the path taken by near-bankrupt Greece,
the state news agency MTI reported.
\"The decisions which define Greece\'s future are no longer made by
Greece itself, and Hungary must avoid this path at all costs,\" Orban
said.
The prime minister promised further economic measures and warned
that autumn will be a period of difficulty in Hungarian public life
and society at large such as has not been seen for a \"long time.\"
In stark contrast to Greece, after several years of austerity
Hungary\'s budget deficit is among the lowest in the European Union.
However, at close to 80 per cent of GDP its national debt remains the
highest among the bloc\'s newer eastern members.
Orban\'s centre-right government, which won a landslide victory
last year partly on the back of a pledge to end austerity, has
committed itself to reducing that figure to below 60 per cent in the
coming years.
Until it does, Hungary will remain in the \"danger zone,\" Prime
Minister Orban said.