Hungary PM Magyar to present 2027 budget in parliament on Monday

Hungarian Prime Minister Peter ​Magyar will present the 2027 ​budget in parliament on Monday, targeting ‌savings in ​public operating expenditure and planning for a surge in European Union-funded investments, he said on Saturday.

The 2027 budget is ‌seen as a key credibility test for Magyar as he tried to curb the deficit to below the EU's 3% target ceiling while still honouring the pledges that helped secure ‌his landslide election win over Viktor Orban in April. Deutsche Bank said overseas investors ‌had poured $13.5 billion into the local bond market year-to-date as of late September, betting heavily on centre-right Magyar's pledge to meet euro entry conditions by 2030.

"The TISZA government will spend more resources on those who have ⁠lost ​out in recent years, ⁠as well as on families, Hungarian businesses, pensioners, education and healthcare," Magyar said in a Facebook post. "The 2027 ⁠budget will save money on the operation of the state and redirect funds from billionaires ​and polluting companies to the millions who have so far been left behind."

Magyar said ⁠billions of euros worth of European Union funding released after the rollback of Orban-era reforms seen as harming ⁠democracy ​would be used to launch "unprecedented" investments in housing, transport and water management. Magyar's euro pledge has triggered a rally in Hungary's forint, which helped drive inflation sharply below ⁠the central bank's target. Market expectations for cuts in the deficit have bolstered government bonds.

Economists polled ⁠by Reuters ⁠see the deficit falling to 5.3% of output in 2027, compared with the government's 7.5% target for 2026. Analysts see Hungary joining the ‌euro in ‌2032 or 2033.