HUNGARY INDEBTED BY STEALTH

To accelerate the construction of motorways the Hungarian state will double its issue of bonds. The parliamentary budget committee wants to hear the officials of the Ministry of Finance in the case of the accumulating hidden debts.

Mihály Varga, chairman of the committee has requested a written report about the less and less transparent state of indebtedness. László Domokos MP, vice chairman of the committee (Fidesz) said they wanted to examine emphatically the planned issue of bonds in the value of about three billion euros (nearly HUF 700 billion) by the State Motorway Management Holding. This transaction has been qualified by the Ministry of Finance as an issue outside the state budget which is a new example for a ’creative accountancy’ according to opposition critics.