Hungary launches 2nd phase of economy protection action plan

Hungary’s prime minister announced the launch of the second phase of Hungary’s economy protection action plan, helping Hungarian businesses with additional measures to overcome the epidemic. Viktor Orban said the government will create as many jobs as are lost because of the coronavirus crisis.

ECONOMY POLITICS APRIL 6. 2020 12:27

Prime Minister Orban announced the launch of the second phase of Hungary s economy protection action plan against the coronavirus crisis. He said that after the hard work of a decade, when things were finally beginning to work out for the country, the pandemic has jeopardized this achievement. He called the present situation unfair, pointing out, however, that we cannot give in and we must fight, both against the pandemic and its economic ramifications.

 

Mr Orban highlighted the need for economic measures that can assist the country to overcome this difficult period. “The government will create as many jobs as the virus destroys,” Viktor Orban said, adding that several measures have already been put in place to protect Hungarian citizens. For instance, social security contributions have been reduced and a loan repayments have been suspended. The second phase of the action plan will be launched on Friday.

The action plan consists of three phases with the government reallocating 18-20 per cent of the country s GDP. The budget deficit will be increased from one to 2.7 percent. The government is set to launch five programmes affecting the following areas:

  • Job retention, where partially taking over payroll taxes paid by employers will be key
  • Job creation with support for investments amounting to 450 billion forints (1.3 billion euros)
  • Relaunching key sectors such as tourism, healthcare, agriculture, food, construction, film and creative industries, as well as logistics and transport
  • The financing of Hungarian companies in the form of interest-rate subsidized and state guaranteed loans to the tune of 2,000 billion forints (5.7 billion euros)
  • Protection for families and pensioners, which will involve, among other things, the payment of a 13th-month pension in four instalments

„We are living in difficult times, but no Hungarian is alone and we will succeed, if we take care of each other.,” Viktor Orban said.

ECONOMY POLITICS

Tags:

coronavirus, crisis, economy, orban, plan