Zoltán Pogátsa: The government was only able to help in one area

By: Trademagazin Date: 2023. 08. 17. 20:03

Economist Zoltán Pogátsa was not surprised to see the recent, not very favorable GDP data, but at the same time he has no idea what the future of the Hungarian economy may bring. He believes that the government was only able to help in one area, but it is a big problem that the investments we see today are entirely managed or initiated by the state, while EU funds are missing.

“I see the biggest problem – as the Minister of Economic Development Márton Nagy has pointed out numerous times – that there is no market-based lending. Today’s investments are entirely managed or initiated by the state”

the economist told Index.

According to Zoltán Pogátsa, the market is simply unable to invest on its own due to the high base interest rate. On the other hand, with the level of inflation experienced in the past period, people’s consumption has fallen into the ground, and in this respect, a decline can be seen in all sectors.

As the third problem, he mentioned that the uncertainty surrounding EU funds is incredibly high:

“At the moment there are no EU funds, the question legitimately arises of what would happen to the economy if no such funds were to arrive in the future”

– then he added: the resources of the previous EU budget cycle are now running out, so their continuous decrease has already been reflected in the current GDP data. Investments can no longer be made from EU funds, as they have been exhausted.

Pogátsa believes that the future of the Hungarian economy is still unpredictable.