BUDAPEST: Hungary is not expected to start official talks with the International Monetary Fund about a new funding deal this month, a leading Hungarian newspaper Nepszabadsag reported on Friday citing unnamed sources.
The paper cited sources it described only as "reliable" as saying that until Hungary passes laws addressing the disputed issues regarding the central bank's independence, the retirement of judges and the data protection authority, formal negotiations will not start.
"There is no deadline for the start of talks, although it is also clear for the IMF that the Hungarian government is trying to play the Turkey card," the paper cited a source as saying.
Turkey played a stop-go game with the IMF some years ago which helped the country maintain market confidence without committing to a new deal and attached conditions on policy.
Hungary's government said in Nov. 2011 that it would seek a new financial backstop from the European Union and the IMF, but formal talks have not yet started due to a legal row with Brussels over a number of controversial pieces of legislation.
This has prompted some analysts to say that Prime Minister Viktor Orban's government could be playing for time, trying to drag out the start of aid talks in the hope that global market sentiment turns more supportive in the meantime.
The government has repeatedly denied this, saying it was ready to start talks at any time. But there is still no timetable for talks, as Brussels has not yet given the green light.
Tamas Fellegi, Hungary's minister in charge of relations with the Fund, said after a visit to Washington late on Thursday that an ad hoc group of experts from the European Central Bank, the IMF, the EU, the National Bank of Hungary and the government would soon begin consultations on measures to be included in a package ensuring the central bank's independence.
The IMF declined to comment on the Nepszabadsag article.
About the ad hoc committee to be set up, the Fund's Representative in Hungary Iryna Ivaschenko said:
"We are working jointly with the authorities, the ECB, and the EU on steps to protect the independence of the Central Bank," she said in an emailed reply to Reuters questions.
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