Hungary’s financial reserves are higher than at the onset of the 2008 global financial crisis, thus the European Union cannot corner the country by withholding funds, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on Friday on the national Kossuth Rádió.
Orbán said a time of danger has arrived, referring to the EU’s ongoing effort to punish Hungary using rule-of-law sanctions. At the same time, the prime minister indicated that the government had not been idle but had prepared for the situation. The cabinet has been able to increase the country’s financial reserves to a considerable extent, partly thanks to cuts in the public utility bills.
“Hungary cannot be backed into a corner. It is a misunderstanding for Brussels to think that without them the sun will not rise,” the prime minister said, elaborating on why he believes Hungary can weather the EU’s punitive financial sanctions.
“Never before have so many people been working in Hungary as in 2022,” the prime minister said, adding that the Hungarian economy is functioning well. “Never before has Hungary received so much investment than in 2022.”
“We are constantly cooperating with economic players, so we can react quickly, and the most important thing is to protect jobs,” Orbán said.
Hungary’s financial reserves are at an all-time high
Orbán’s Facebook post after the radio interview also noted that “Hungary’s financial reserves are at an all-time high.” He said that in the past three months, Hungary has managed to increase its reserves significantly, partly because of the cuts in the rationing of public utility bills and partly because the government is prepared for an era of danger.
He said that Brussels had not achieved its objective of “backing our country into a financial corner,” adding that this has frustrated decision-makers in Brussels and may be behind the decision to suspend Erasmus university grants.
Business portal Világgazdaság reported that, according to Orbán, Hungary’s foreign currency reserves have reached almost €42 billion, which is higher than the €37.8 billion Hungary had at the onset of the 2008 global financial crisis, an amount that also included loans from the IMF and the European Union.
