| Series Title | European Voice |
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| Series Details | Vol.11, No.36, 13.10.05 |
| Publication Date | 13/10/2005 |
| Content Type | News |
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Date: 13/10/05 The European Commission's determination to intensify the pressure on countries which fail to implement measures to cut their budget deficits will be tested again next week when the Commission examines Hungary's excessive deficit. Following this week's Ecofin Council meeting in Luxembourg (11 October) Joaquín Almunia, the commissioner for economic and monetary affairs, said that he was preparing a recommendation regarding Hungary's excessive deficit, which he hopes the Commission will adopt on 20 October. The recommendation will then be presented to the Ecofin Council in November. At the end of September Hungary revised its fiscal deficit forecast for 2005 from 3.6% of gross domestic product (GDP) to 6.1%, almost double the 3% limit established by the Maastricht Treaty. It emerged that a costly public/private sector motorway project had been excluded from the earlier estimate. Its deficit for 2006 is forecast now to be 4.7% instead of 2.9%. In July 2004 the Council first put the spotlight on Hungary's excessive deficit and in May this year said its corrective measures were inadequate. Since Hungary is not a eurozone member it cannot have financial sanctions imposed on it, but there is speculation that doubts could be raised about its access to EU structural funds. Following the Eurogroup meeting in Luxembourg on the eve of the Ecofin, Almunia drew attention to the problems of Germany, Italy and Luxembourg, saying that on the basis of forecasts recently provided to the Commission, they were falling short of the fiscal objectives they set at the beginning of the year. Article reports that Joaquín Almunia, the European Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs, was preparing a recommendation regarding Hungary's excessive budget deficit, to be adopted by the European Commission on 20 October 2005. If adopted the recommendation would then be presented to the Ecofin Council in November 2005. |
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| Source Link | http://www.european-voice.com/ |
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| Countries / Regions | Hungary |
