Gov't to Postpone HUF 675 bln of Investments - Varga
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The government will postpone HUF 675 billion of state investments as fiscal adjustments are made to adapt to the wartime situation, Finance Minister Mihály Varga said at a regular government press briefing on Thursday, according to a report by state news wire MTI.
Varga said the measure would "significantly" increase the room for fiscal maneuver. He affirmed that the government targeted a general government deficit of 4.5% in 2024, 3.7% in 2025 and 2.9% in 2026. He said GDP growth "could be around 2.5%" in 2024, then pick up to 4.1% in 2025 as big manufacturing sector investments in the pipeline start up.
Fielding questions, Varga said the January-March general government deficit had been widened by interest expenditures that were some HUF 600 bln higher than in the base period, about HUF 1.9 trillion for an annual pensioners bonus and an allocation related to the purchase of Budapest's international airport. He added that this year's cash flow-based deficit would be about HUF 4 trillion
Gergely Gulyás, the head of the Prime Minister's Office, said the government would wait until after the United States election on November 5 to submit the 2025 budget bill to lawmakers.
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