The finance minister said the government has diverted resources so that the 2021 budget could be focused on combatting the novel coronavirus epidemic and protecting the economy.
Speaking on Kossuth Rádió, Mihály Varga said the government’s established practice of preparing and submitting the budget bill to parliament in the spring provides a degree of predictability to market players, households and families that needed to be maintained even during the epidemic.
Minister Varga said job creation remains one of the top priorities, underlining the importance of a stable fiscal policy, supporting families, protecting pensioners and guaranteeing the real value of pensions.
The budget allocates HUF 3,000 billion (EUR 8.7bn) to a health-insurance and epidemic response fund and HUF 2,550 billion towards economy protection. It also allocates a total of HUF 270 billion for contingency measures.
The minister also highlighted that the bill earmarks an extra HUF 156 billion for healthcare and an additional HUF 78 billion for education compared with this year. Border protection also remains an important aspect, with HUF 704 billion earmarked for defense and an extra HUF 154 billion allocated for the police forces and public safety spending, he said.