Hungary does not support the proposal to create a separate euro zone budget, as such a concept would be against the country’s interests, Finance Minister Mihály Varga was quoted as saying at a meeting of EU finance ministers in Brussels on Monday.
Varga told his EU colleagues that having a separate budget for the countries that share the common currency could present serious risks, the finance ministry said in a statement.
A euro zone budget would unnecessarily deepen the existing divide between euro zone and non-euro zone members, the minister said.
Varga said all EU member states had a duty to develop their economies, help the less advanced countries catch up with the more prosperous ones and promote innovation and R+D. But the passage of a joint euro zone budget would restrict non-euro zone countries from financing the bloc’s common goals, he argued.
The idea for a euro zone budget was proposed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron in June after their meeting at Merkel’s Meseberg retreat outside Berlin.
The creation of such a budget requires the backing of the other 17 euro zone countries.
Several other countries, including the Netherlands and Finland have also expressed their opposition to the plan, the ministry said.
