BUDAPEST (HUNGARY) – Hungary is likely to throw its weight behind a European Union plan to pump billions of euros into the bloc’s coronavirus-ravaged economies, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Friday ahead of a conference of EU leaders.
Last month, Orban had hinted that he was sceptical about the plan.
“Several EU member states are in such a dire situation now that we can hardly avoid approving that Hungary would also support a joint borrowing plan,” he told state radio on Friday, adding that the scheme presented a chance for Hungary’s economy as well.
The 27 leaders of the bloc will discuss the recovery plans on Friday morning by video link, with the aim of uniting behind an unprecedented 750-billion-euro stimulus programme financed via borrowing by the executive European Commission.
The aid would be disbursed mainly among the nations worst-hit by the pandemic, such as Italy and Spain.
Central Europe’s Visegrad Group of Hungary, Slovakia, Poland and the Czech Republic last week moved towards supporting the EU plan but said it should not favour larger, richer states or hurt smaller ones that had managed the outbreak well.
These four countries have reported far fewer cases of the COVID-19 than other members of the bloc. But they also face recessions this year because of economic shutdowns.
Hungary, which has a population of around 10 million, recorded 4,079 cases of COVID-19 as of Thursday, including 568 deaths. It lifted most of its restrictions last month.
On Friday, Orban also said his government would take necessary legal and economic measures to protect lives should a second wave of the epidemic break out.
(Photos syndicated via Reuters)
This story has been edited by BH staff and is published from a syndicated field
