Hungary faces EU funding cuts over high deficit forecast
PR dla Zagranicy
Anna Bierzańska
13.03.2012 20:00
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Hungary faces EU funding cuts over high deficit. Report by Alicja Baczynska.
The European Commission withholds development funds for Hungary in response to the forecast indicating budget deficit will reach 3.6 percent next year.
European finance ministers have voted in favor of freezing almost half a billion euro in funds earmarked for Hungary, as the country looks to cross over the budget deficit to GDP ratio, outlined in EU's new financial pact.
The government in Budapest has been given time until fall to prove it is able to fit the EU requirements of no more than 3 percent due to its forecast excessive deficit. The measure will be retracted if, by fall, Budapest proves to Brussels that is capable of curbing its budget gap below the 3-percent threshold.
Alicja Baczynska reports on the developments.
Spanish Minister of Economy Luis de Guindos (L) and French budget minister François Baroin at the start of a Finance ministers council at the EU headquarters in Brussels. PAP/EPA/OLIVIER HOSLET