EU freezes Hungary 2013 funds
BRUSSELS, Belgium – Danish economy minister Margrethe Vestager says her European Union counterparts have decided to sanction Hungary for its high deficit but will reassess their decision in June.
That gives Budapest three months to announce more structural budget cuts and prevent its deficit from breaking the EU’s limit of three per cent of economic output.
If it fails to do so, Hungary won’t get (euro) 495 million ($55.8 billion) in EU development funds it is entitled to in 2013.
Several EU countries, including the UK and Austria, had pushed during the meeting to delay the decision on sanctions until September.
The compromise found by the ministers underlines the difficulty the EU faces in enforcing the tougher spending rules it hopes will help ward off its debt crisis.