Hungary seeks talks on IMF-EU loan as soon as possible
(BUDAPEST) - Hungary is seeking to resume loan talks with the International Monetary Fund and the EU "as soon as possible", the minister in charge of the negotiations, Tamas Fellegi, said on Thursday.
"The government would like to begin negotiations as soon as possible and finish them quickly," Fellegi said at a news conference.
"But this does not only depend on the pace set by Hungary, but on our partners as well and we know that more conflicts are ahead," he said.
Foreign Minister Janos Martonyi said in February that talks with the IMF and European Union could begin by the end of March.
Hungary, an EU member since 2004, asked the IMF and the EU for a 20 billion euro ($25 billion) loan last November as the forint dropped to record lows against the euro and borrowing costs rose to record highs.
But the two institutions halted preliminary talks in December when Hungary's conservative government adopted laws seen as threatening the independence of the central bank and freedom of the press.
Fellegi said that Hungary had no "plan B" beyond the rescue from the EU and IMF.
Hungary and its Prime Minister Viktor Orban have come under international criticism over the new laws, which are seen as a possible slide towards authoritarianism.
The EU commission on Wednesday gave Hungary one month to rewrite controversial legislation or face court action in a fresh round of its running tussle with Orban.
Orban, whose ties with the European Commission have been fraught through his almost two years at the helm of Hungary, already faces an unprecedented freeze in EU funds for excessive spending.