The 2020 Hungarian budget, approved by the National Assembly on Friday, allocates funds to support families at a level that is the highest in Europe and double the amount earmarked in the 2010 budget. More than 2.2 trillion HUF (6.79 billion EUR) will be available for support to families in this new budget, said Gergely Gulyás, the minister heading the Prime Minister’s Office.
“In addition to supporting families, the 2020 budget is also about protecting the economic results achieved so far and continuing tax reductions,” Minister of Finance Mihály Varga said in Parliament during the general debate over the draft.
“The government has submitted a budget bill to the National Assembly that primarily provides assistance and security to families and people who are starting a family or are already raising children. The goal is for Hungary to be a family-friendly place and children continue to be of primary importance to the government,” the finance minister added.
Besides supporting families, the government also targets the goal of full employment through funding for the Economy Protection Action Plan. The budget bill uses “two plus two logic,” according to the minister, to reduce sovereign debt and taxes, and increase wages, investment and jobs.
While the Hungarian economy shows little sign of slowing down, counter to trends elsewhere in Europe, the Economy Protection Action Plan aims to maintain economic growth at around 4 percent in the coming years and at a rate that is at least 2 percentage points higher than the European Union average.
Compared to the last fiscal year, in 2020 more resources will be spent on all priority areas. In addition to supporting families, these areas include education, healthcare, pensions, public sector wages, and security and law enforcement expenditure.
All things considered, we can confidently say that 2020 budget offers a great example of how far the economic policy of the current government has taken the country over the past nine years.