Peter Magyar said Tuesday that Hungary is aiming for a budget gap of 2.8% of output by 2030, keeping it under the 3% threshold. He laid out a glide path of 4.9% in the first year, then 4.0%, then 3.4% in the third.
The budget framework assumes the economy grows 2.4% next year after a 1.7% to 1.8% forecast for this year, and accelerates to "well above 3%" by 2030. He added, "Winning the confidence of the markets isn't so important in itself, but for the financeability of the country's debt, for the price we pay, it has enormous significance that we have a sustainable budget."
Magyar said Hungary endured Europe's highest interest rates during the previous government's era of weak growth, and that adopting the euro is central to bringing those borrowing costs down in the real economy. He announced plans to shift the fiscal load away from poorer families toward wealthier households.
The forint was largely unchanged while he addressed parliament on Monday. After taking office in a landslide in April, ousting Viktor Orban, Magyar pledged to fight entrenched cronyism and restart growth. He told reporters that, under the plan, people who were left behind under the previous government will receive more support, and that fiscal sustainability takes precedence over raising public sector pay.
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Finance Minister Andras Karman said public debt will be steered lower, with a goal to trim it by 0.3 percentage points to 77.2% of GDP by the end of next year. Per the Finance Ministry, the 2027 tweaks yield an overall 2.6% narrowing of the deficit, broken down as -1.9% from pre-election pledges, +0.5% from energy prices, -0.9% via tax-system changes, -1.5% by trimming wasteful spending, -0.2% from interest payments, and +1.4% for social spending and public wages.
The central bank is expected to keep its benchmark rate at 5.5% later on Tuesday.
Budgets guide borrowing costs. A credible path from 4.9% to 2.8% and a stated preference for sustainability over wage hikes point to tighter fiscal management, while the redistribution toward higher earners could reshape household demand. If the growth assumptions hold and debt ratios edge down toward 77.2% of GDP, that supports funding at steadier rates and reduces risk premia - a backdrop that matters for Hungarian assets and regional exposure.
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