imf

February 16, 2010, 09:32 CET

Socialists, Fidesz on IMF statements

Hungary's governing Socialists welcomed an IMF-EU delegation's remarks on Monday on the country's finances while main opposition Fidesz said it is clear the economic crisis had been deepened by the current government. Lajos Szabo, a Socialist member of parliament's budget... [read complete entry]

February 11, 2010, 09:54 CET

FM rejects allegations of new austerity measures

Hungary's Finance Minister Peter Oszko categorically denied allegations by the online version of the daily Magyar Nemzet on Wednesday that austerity measures are necessary for keeping this year's budget deficit target. The paper said that a delegation of the International... [read complete entry]

February 08, 2010, 10:15 CET

Ex-PM Gyurcsány meets Netanjahu, Blair, IMF chief in Israel

Hungary's former Socialist prime minister Ferenc Gyurcsany held a 45-minute consultation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanjahu in Israel on Thursday, a senior adviser to the Prime Minister's Office told the commercial channel ATV. Gyurcsany informed Netanjahu about Hungary's domestic... [read complete entry]

January 26, 2010, 03:16 CET

Vona reveals Jobbik's "enemies list": IMF, United States, Israel, Slovakia and terrestrial commercial television stations

In a speech held in Esztergom over the weekend, Jobbik chairman Gábor Vona (also the party's prime ministerial candidate) revealed what can be considered to be the party's "enemies list", origo.hu reports. If the party were to come into power,... [read complete entry]

December 28, 2009, 09:24 CET

Fidesz leader says gov't only policy to meet IMF/EU bailout terms

Government policy over the past six months has failed to go beyond meeting conditions for international loans, head of main opposition Fidesz's parliamentary group Tibor Navracsics told MTI in an interview on Sunday. Assessing the past six months, Navracsics said... [read complete entry]

December 23, 2009, 09:42 CET

Socialist leader calls 2009 year of economic housecleaning

Hungarian Socialist Party leader Ildiko Lendvai has called 2009 a year of successful house-cleaning in the economy, and 2010 a year of responsible decision. The government has managed "to remove all skeletons from the cupboard", and compiled a transparent budget... [read complete entry]

December 17, 2009, 10:02 CET

President says MPs should have opted for early elections after fall of Gyurcsány

President Laszlo Solyom said in a press interview that Hungary would have come off better if the parliamentary majority had opted for early elections when Ferenc Gyurcsany resigned as prime minister in 2008. "As they only replaced the premier at... [read complete entry]

December 03, 2009, 11:16 CET

Bajnai backs Obama's Afghan surge during Washington visit

An increase of Hungarian forces in Afghanistan is now in the planning stage, the Defence Ministry said as Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai arrived in Washington for a four-day visit. He declared that Hungary supports President Barack Obama's strategy in Afghanistanafter... [read complete entry]

December 02, 2009, 09:27 CET

Bajnai leaves for Washington for four-day visit

Hungarian Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai will meet US Vice-President Joe Biden during the four-day working visit starting in Washington, DC, on Wednesday. Bajnai's entourage will include Defence Minister Imre Szekeres, liberal Free Democrat parliamentary leader Janos Koka and a Bajnai... [read complete entry]

November 30, 2009, 11:40 CET

"Hungary a frontrunner in fiscal stability," Bajnai tells Newsweek

Hungary has become a frontrunner in terms of fiscal stability, Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai said in an interview published by the online edition of Newsweek on Friday. Asked about the impact of the economic crisis in Hungary, he said, "Hungarians... [read complete entry]

October 05, 2009, 11:00 CET

Szíjjártó lays out Fidesz's post-election priorities

The first priority of a Fidesz government will be to launch economic growth by cutting taxes, Peter Szijjarto, the head of the party's cabinet, told MTI in an interview. Szijjarto said that Fidesz would renegotiate the conditions of the IMF-led... [read complete entry]

September 25, 2009, 09:54 CET

Analyst says big Fidesz victory could spur big economic changes

The greater the Fidesz victory in next year’s elections, the greater the possibility that the party will attempt to make major economic policy changes, such as concluding a new pact with the IMF or changing the pension system, political scientist... [read complete entry]

July 01, 2009, 09:46 CET

IMF says early elections possible as slump deepens

There is a chance that early elections will be held in Hungary due to political instability, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said yesterday in a statement summing up the fulfilment of conditions for the loan it extended to Hungary. The... [read complete entry]

June 26, 2009, 10:26 CET

Bajnai says Fidesz not serious about "impossible" economic pledges

Hungary is pursuing a responsible economic policy and it would be a big mistake to reverse the government's crisis-management measures, Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai told local papers. In interviews published by several local papers on Friday, Bajnai said he considered... [read complete entry]

June 11, 2009, 09:27 CET

Orbán says Fidesz has no intention to cooperate with other parties

Fidesz chairman Viktor Orbán yesterday insisted that "there is one camp and one flag," despite the success of other right-wing parties in Sunday's elections. "We are pleased to see others join us, but where will they fit?" he wondered. Fidesz... [read complete entry]

April 03, 2009, 09:34 CET

Socialist splinter group plans "left-wing" alternative to Bajnai plan

Hungary's credit line led by the International Monetary Fund allows for a more "left-wing" programme than the austerity package promoted by Gordon Bajnai, the prime minister nominee, a Socialist official said on Thursday.... [read complete entry]

January 16, 2009, 10:42 CET

Fidesz puts pressure on government to draft new budget

Hungary needs a new budget, as the one planned for 2009 collapsed in the second week of the year, Tibor Navracsics, caucus leader of main opposition party Fidesz has said. "[Finance Minister] János Veres (...) will have to prepare a... [read complete entry]

December 29, 2008, 10:24 CET

Orbán says gov't to use IMF loan to "buy votes"; urges thorough accounting

The disbursement of the loan the International Monetary Fund has recently granted to Hungary needs to be subjected to "thorough historical and theoretical scrutiny," Viktor Orban, head of the main opposition Fidesz said on Wednesday, suggesting that the funds drawn... [read complete entry]

November 14, 2008, 08:18 CET

IMF accord still improperly shrouded in secrecy, Fidesz claims

There is a distinct discrepancy between what IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn and Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany said about the 12.3 billion euro standby loan the IMF made available to Hungary, opposition Fidesz party spokesman Peter Szijjarto told MTI on... [read complete entry]