The Euro could come to Hungary in 2024

Hungary may meet the Maastricht criteria for adopting the euro by the end of 2024, the head of the Fiscal Council said on Thursday.

Whereas inflation was 25.4 percent in February, it could drop to around 3 percent by summer 2024, Árpád Kovács told the assembly of the Fejer County Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Székesfehérvár, in central Hungary. Public debt relative to GDP will fall well below 70 percent by the end of next year, and the budget deficit is expected to be around 2.9 percent, he added.

GDP growth is projected to be around 1 percent this year, before rising to 3.5-4 percent in 2024, Kovács said. Inflation will fall below 10 percent by the end of this year, and forecasts indicate a significantly better inflationary environment next year, he added.

Hungary ranks at the top of the bottom third of European Union countries in terms of GDP per capita, ahead of Portugal and Slovakia, among others, and could move into the midfield by 2029, Kovács said.

Hungary’s nominal GDP has been growing since 2020, and not just because of inflation and a rise in output, he said, adding that GDP was set to reach HUF 78,000 billion (EUR 207.8bn) this year.

Source: MTI