• Home
• Channel: Current Affairs
• Hungary PM Orbán: Coronavirus To Hit Countries Depending On Tourism Worst

Hungary PM Orbán: Coronavirus To Hit Countries Depending On Tourism Worst

• 11 Mar 2020 6:48 AM
• Hungary Matters

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said the coronavirus outbreak threatened countries heavily depending on tourism with a major economic downturn.

China, he added, took 5-6 months to slow the virus down, which for Europe would mean the epidemic would last until the peak of the tourist season in July.

Speaking at an event organised by the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MKIK), the prime minister warned that preparations must be made for “brutal changes”.

“If all we do in the next ten years is as much as we did in the past ten, then we will be ruined,” he said. On top of that, Brexit carries with it industrial policy considerations, Orbán said.

The associated fallout contained elements that may badly affect Hungary’s competitive advantage, he added. Among the achievements, Orbán noted consistent deficits of below 3% of GDP since 2012, while public debt has been pushed down to 66% of GDP.

He said this would soon fall below 60%. The prime minister said the government aimed to eliminate foreign currency debt and finance Hungarian government debt in forints.

Orbán praised the Hungarian central bank’s monetary policy, saying that in 2019 spending on servicing debt had declined by 900 billion forints compared with 2012.

The prime minister said the government’s success over the past ten years rested on a number of factors, including economic policymakers who were brave enough to take risky measures such as repaying IMF debt, thereby regaining the confidence of economic players and foreign investors.

Photo: Gergely Botár - kormany.hu

Related links

Hungary Allocates Over HUF 8 Billion For Coronavirus Response

PM Orbán: Coronavirus Likely To Hit Hungary

• How does this content make you feel?
• I love it
• I like it
• I dislike it

• Hungary's PM Viktor Orbán Coronavirus

XpatLoop Media Partner

Hungary Matters

Launched in January 2014, this newsletter published on week days covers 'everything you need to know about what’s going on in Hungary and beyond', according to its publisher the state media agency MTI.

Explore More Reports

Hungary-Serbia Relations 'At Historic Best'

• 7 Mar 2024 6:15 AM

Hungary-Serbia relations are at their historic best, as ethnic Hungarian communities beyond the borders represent a resource in cooperation with neighbouring countries, the foreign minister said.



Láng: Deputy Mayor 'Admits' City Leadership 'Brought Budapest to Bankruptcy'

• 8 Dec 2023 9:48 AM

Ruling Fidesz’s Budapest leader Zsolt Láng has said that the deputy mayor of Budapest had admitted that the city’s leadership had brought Budapest to bankruptcy.



Details Revealed of 3 Key Questions in Next National Consultation Survey in Hungary

• 2 Nov 2023 5:59 AM

The government’s next National Consultation survey will include three questions on economic issues that substantially impact the Hungarian economy and the lives of Hungarian families and address “Brussels’s efforts to force its own will upon us”, the government spokeswoman said.



After Ten-Year Hiatus Cooperation Between Hungary & Armenia Relaunched - New Flight Between Budapest - Yerevan Coming?

• 30 Oct 2023 6:44 AM

Hungary remains committed to rebuilding relations with Armenia, and after a ten-year hiatus the sides are preparing cooperation that serves the interests of both countries, the foreign minister said in Yerevan on Friday.