Hungary signs deal with EU on further EUR 1.5bn
(BUDAPEST) - The European Union has unblocked further financial aid to Hungary as part of an international lifeline promised last autumn, the finance ministry announced on Friday.
"Hungary can draw on the third EU-provided installment of the international financing package," the Hungarian ministry said in a statement.
Budapest will receive the 1.5 billion euros (2.09 billion dollars) "by the end of the month," it added.
The altogether 6.5-billion-euro EU loan is part of a 20-billion-euro lifeline provided by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and the EU to help Hungary cope with the global financial crisis.
Hungary, hard-hit by the global downturn, received four billion euros from Brussels in two installments in December and March.
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