Hungary’s Fiscal Council (Költségvetési Tanács) has reviewed the draft 2027 central budget bill and, by unanimous decision, raised no fundamental objection to it. The council found the planned deficit target of 4.9 percent of GDP broadly justified, though it said hitting that figure depends on strict control of certain savings measures.
Deficit path and savings
The 2027 target marks a drop from the 7.5 percent of GDP deficit targeted for 2026. The government plans expenditure cuts of 1,400 billion forints in 2027, including a 10 percent reduction in ministries’ operating expenditure and a 20 percent cut to their capital expenditure.
The council said it wants the deficit eventually brought below 3 percent of GDP. It noted that the compatibility of the 4.9 percent target with EU fiscal rules depends on approval by the Council of the European Union of Hungary’s new medium-term fiscal-structural plan.
Debt trajectory and risks
Government debt stood at 77.5 percent of GDP at the start of the 2027 period under review, with the budget plan projecting a decline to 77.2 percent of GDP by the end of 2027. Both figures remain well above the 50 percent of GDP threshold set out in Article 36(5) of the Fundamental Law.
The council also flagged a risk around the state asset-increase reserve, an open-ended item budgeted at just 1 million forints, warning it could complicate adherence to the deficit and debt rules. The review comes months after the Tisza government removed the council’s veto power over the budget through amendments to the Fundamental Law and related laws in August 2026; that veto had never actually been used.
Related: Hungary cuts 2026 deficit target to 7.5% of GDP · Hungary's growth seen at 1.7% in 2026, 2.6% in 2027
Source: Költségvetési Tanács
