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Hungary will not draw the next tranche of the stand-by loan agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and will postpone taking financial assistance offered by the European Union, according to an announcement by Hungarian Finance Minister Peter Oszko.
Seriously affected by the global financial crisis, Hungary contracted a total of 20 billion EUR (25.1 billion USD) in loans from the IMF, the World Bank and the European Union. The country has already drawn 8.34 billion EUR (12.5 billion USD) from the 11.5 billion EUR contracted with the IMF and 5.5 billion EUR from the 6.5 billion EUR contracted with the European Union. The funds helped stabilize the economy, but the cost was severe, forcing Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai to turn to an austerity plan.
"Hungary has achieved good progress in containing public spending through numerous measures, which have supported the strong adjustment of the external imbalance, increased investor confidence, and contributed to a substantially improved access to market financing," said European Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Policy Joaquin Almunia.
According to the Country Report, Hungary"s GDP plunged 7.5 per cent in the second quarter of 2009 compared to the year-earlier period and is expected to close the year with a 6.7 per cent year-on-year decline. The Hungarian economy is currently expected to recede 0.6 per cent in 2010, as opposed to the previously estimated 0.9 per cent decline.
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