| January 9, 2012

The European Commission found that financing granted to Hungarian flag carrier Malév between 2007 and 2010 in the context of its privatisation and renationalisation constitutes illegal state aid and must be repaid to the state.

| January 4, 2012

EU executive José Manuel Barroso has called on Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to ensure that the nation’s Central Bank remains independent despite a controversial reform that gives the government more control over the bank.

| December 16, 2011

Preparatory talks between Hungary's government, the IMF and the European Union on a precautionary loan were interrupted on Friday, Amadeu Altafaj Tardio, spokesman for Economic and Financial Commissioner Olli Rehn said.

| December 13, 2011

Talks between the Hungarian government and international organizations about a financial safety net began this Tuesday. Despite earlier government statements, Hungary is likely to get a credit facility with the same conditions as in 2008.

| November 29, 2011

Hungary’s central bank (MNB) has raised its key policy rate by 50 basis points to 6.50% on Tuesday, in line with expectations. Although today’s rate call was in line with expectations, it does represent a turnaround in monetary policy.

| November 23, 2011

Hungary is striving to expand its strategic cooperation with India both in terms of trade and joint investments, Deputy State Secretary in Hungary’s National Economy Ministry, Balázs Hidveghi told a conference on India this Wednesday.

| November 21, 2011

The American Chamber of Commerce in Hungary (AmCham), established in 1989, aims “to be the leading representative for US and international business in Hungary, and to promote the global competitiveness of the country”.

| November 18, 2011

Hungary expects to sign a new agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the EU early next year, the country's Economy Ministry said on Friday. Hungary, in a reversal of policy, wants to see the IMF act as an "insurance".

| November 15, 2011

The National Bank of Hungary believes the recent depreciation of Hungary’s forint is not justified by the fundamentals of the country’s economy a gradual tightening of monetary conditions may become necessary in Hungary.

| November 11, 2011

Attaining the 1.5% GDP growth targeted for 2012 will be "extremely difficult", Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said at the London School of Economics on Thursday. The EU projects Hungarian GDP to be 0.5% next year.

Sándor Laczkó | November 3, 2011

Hungarian-born American billionaire investor György (George) Soros said in Budapest this Thursday that the current euro crisis has the potential to destroy the cohesion of the European Union, mainly due to its political nature.

Sándor Laczkó | November 2, 2011

The chairman of the Portuguese-Hungarian Chamber of Commerce, László Hubay Cebrian talks to Diplomacy and Trade about how the organization wishes to enhance business ties between the Potuguese-speaking world and Hungary.

Sándor Laczkó | October 18, 2011

Hungary will have the crisis taxes phased out as of 2013, a National Economy Ministry deputy state secretary confirmed earlier reports on Tuesday. The sectoral taxes are expected to generate HUF 1 billion in 2012.

Sándor Laczkó | October 13, 2011

Hungary hassigned new partnership agreements on EUR 153 million in funding from the European Economic Area (EEA) and the Norwegian Financing Mechanisms the country is getting in the years 2009-2014.

Sándor Laczkó | September 13, 2011

Brussels expressed its concerns over the Hungarian government’s plan to help people with foreign currency-denominated mortgages by allowing debt pay-off well under the market rate. Austria is infuriated and “firmly rejects” the measure.

Sándor Laczkó | September 12, 2011

The latest plan by the government includes measures affecting the cost of borrowing, utilities prices and foreign currency-denominated mortgages. There may be a higher VAT rate for luxury purchases and the public jobs program expanded.

Sándor Laczkó | September 8, 2011

The Hungary's Economy Minister György Matolcsy has proposed increasing the value-added tax on luxury items in a letter sent to European Tax Commissioner Algirdas Semeta, the Ministry of National Economy said in a statement on Wednesday.

Sándor Laczkó | September 7, 2011

Hungarian government representative András Kármán and the British Ambassador to Hungary, Greg Dorey signed a Double Taxation Agreement in Budapest. The agreement reflects modern business developments between the two countries.

Sándor Laczkó | September 6, 2011

Hungary is to further reduce its public debt in October and November, taking it down from 77% of gross domestic product to 73%, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán told a news conference after a cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

Sándor Laczkó / portfolio.hu | August 29, 2011

Bank of China Ltd. may be a new addition to the currently 15-strong list of primary dealers of Hungarian government bonds, CEO of the State Debt Management Agency (ÁKK), Gyula Pleschinger told Bloomberg in an interview on Monday.

Sándor Laczkó / portfolio.hu | August 8, 2011

A new natural gas pipeline connecting Hungary and Croatia is now operational. It is a milestone event for Croatia as for the past 33 years, the country's only access to international gas pipelines had been a single line to Slovenia.

portfolio.hu | June 6, 2011

US-based contract electronics manufacturer Jabil Circuit will create 670 new jobs at its plant in the northeastern Hungarian city of Tiszaújváros, creating 370 new jobs, a Hungarian Economics Ministry official has announced.

Sándor Laczkó | May 6, 2011

Hungary's Constitutional Court has ruled that the retroactive effect of a 98% tax designed to regain severance pay was unconstitutional. The tax was aimed to cover golden handshakes made up to five years before the law came into effect.

Sándor Laczkó / portfolio.hu | May 5, 2011

Hungary’s 100 richest people increased their wealth by 12% year on year in 2010 to HUF 2,116 billion (EUR 7.98 bn), according to a list compiled by local business daily Napi Gazdaság. OTP Bank’s Chairman-CEO Sándor Csányi tops the list.

portfolio.hu | April 26, 2011

There was a slight improvement in the GKI-Erste confidence indices following a plummet observed in March. Business confidence rose palpably while consumer confidence grew only marginally, and both remained below their respective February levels.

Sándor Laczkó | April 11, 2011

The member states of the European Union advocate sound budget policy. That was the conclusion observers drew from the two-day informal meeting of Economic and Finance Ministers (ECOFIN) in Hungary this past week-end.

portfolio.hu | April 7, 2011

As a result of a EUR 3.75 billion US dollar bond issuance at the end of March, Hungary’s international reserves jumped to an all-time high EUR 35.7 billion in the third month of 2011, according to the central bank (NBH) on Thursday.

Alica Árvay | March 25, 2011

The Minister of National Development, Tamás Fellegi says the Paks Nuclear Power Plant, the only such plant in Hungary, is safe and will stand the stress test. He made the statement following his visit to the plant this week.

portfolio.hu | March 16, 2011

The European Commission sees clear signs in the measures in Hungary’s reform package that the country is on the right track towards fiscal consolidation, European Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs Olli Rehn said in Brussels.

MTI | March 4, 2011

Hungary is set to go ahead with appointing four new external members to the Monetary Council of its central bank, under the new nomination rules passed by parliament, despite stark remarks by the president of the European Central Bank.

MTI | March 1, 2011

The government's Széll Kálmán Plan seeks to eliminate the danger of indebtedness both at the individual and the national level, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán wrote in his introduction to the program unveiled on Tuesday.

MTI | February 24, 2011

The Hungarian government and the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) on Thursday signed a strategic partnership agreement that aims to foster a closer cooperation and give lawmakers an ear to private sector proposals.

MTI | February 23, 2011

Hungary should adopt a unified bidding system for R & D if financing is to be tapped effectively, József Pálinkás, Chairman of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, told a innovation conference in Budapest's ELTE University on Wednesday.

Portfolio/Népszabadság | February 14, 2011

Hungary plans to introduce electronic road toll before phasing out the flat-rate toll in the following years, local daily Népszabadság reported on Monday. The vehicles likely to be hit the hardest will be the biggest trucks.

MTI | February 1, 2011

The European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Olli Rehn has contacted the Hungarian government in writing, asking for a list of planned reform steps, the Hungarian business daily Világgazdaság said on Tuesday.

Alica Árvay | January 28, 2011

A proposal by the head of the parliamentary group of the governing Fidesz to cut state subsidies for renewable energy is being reviewed by the Ministry of National Development. The draft would alter agreements already negotiated by the Ministry.

Alica Árvay | January 27, 2011

Decision-making is usually a complicated matter in the corporate world. Recently, a research has been conducted to examine how the heads of corporations arrive at their decisions in Hungary. The most important results were discussed at a conference.

MTI/Népszabadság | January 26, 2011

Holders of mandatory private pensions who face losses unless they switch to the state system by the end of January have made over 200 complaints to the Constitutional Court, the daily Népszabadság said on Wednesday.

MTI | January 24, 2011

All economic priorities of the Hungarian presidency serve to strengthen the position of the European Union, Hungarian Economy Minister Gyorgy Matolcsy said at an EP committee hearing in Brussels on Monday.

MTI/Népszabadság | January 14, 2011

Hungary's New Széchenyi Plan, an economic development plan, will invest HUF 7,000 billion (EUR 25.5bn) between 2011 and 2014 in various business projects and infrastructure, boosting the investment rate by an annual 5 percentage points.