Part 5/8:
The public deficit in Hungary has substantially increased since 2015, particularly during and after the pandemic. Over the past four years, the average public deficit hovered around 7% of GDP, significantly surpassing the EU's target of 3%. By June 2024, Hungary's deficit had already eclipsed the revised target of 4.5% of GDP.
Moreover, Hungary is now confronting debt servicing costs that are among the highest in the EU, with over 4% of its GDP allocated to interest payments. This escalating scenario hints at a potentially dangerous cycle where rising debt necessitates increased borrowing to cover servicing costs—an alarming "debt doom loop."