BUDAPEST: Hungary's government announced new savings of up to 800 million euros on Friday in an effort to exit an EU excessive deficit procedure later this month.
"The government will freeze 92.9 billion forints (310-million-euros, $403-million) of budget expenditures worth around 0.3 percent of gross domestic product, in order to exit the procedure," Economy Minister Mihaly Varga told journalists, without specifying what the measures entailed.
A further 500 million euros of savings could be made in 2014 if the European Commission required, he added.
Under the terms of the EU's Maastricht Treaty, member states are supposed to run deficits of no more than 3.0 percent of GDP, and are bound to work towards a balance and even a surplus in times of economic growth.
If Hungary's efforts are deemed insufficient by Brussels, it risks losing part of its crucial EU cohesion funds.
In its spring report last week, the Commission forecast that Hungary would run a deficit of 3.0 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) this year, and 3.3 percent of GDP in 2014.
The government in Budapest, however, has projected of deficit of 2.7 percent for both years, which it says should allow Hungary to close the procedure.
The Commission is to decide on the issue later this month.
According to the economy ministry website, the 500-million-euro additional savings could include a freeze on larger government investments, a postponement of one-off projects like football stadium projects, and a hike in special taxes on banks and energy suppliers.
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