Hungary’s Orban May Not Strike EU Deal Today, Deputy PM Says
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban may not reach a political agreement with European Commission President Jose Barroso at a meeting today, Deputy Prime Minister Tibor Navracsics said.
Hungary faces infringement procedures by the European Union over laws on the central bank, the judiciary and the data protection agency. Orban is trying to revive financial aid negotiations with the EU and the International Monetary Fund. Orban earlier said he expected to reach a “political agreement” during talks with Barroso today.
“I don’t know if either the prime minister or the commission’s president have the ambition to reach a political agreement today,” Navracsics said in an interview on public radio MR1-Kossuth today. “The stakes aren’t that high.”
Hungary will “surely not modify” a new constitution, which came into effect on Jan. 1, as a result of the disagreement with the 27-member bloc over the retirement age of judges, Navracsics said. “There won’t be a concession, the parties may find a joint solution,” he said.
Hungary rejects the EU’s view that cutting the official retirement age from 70 to 62 for judges was discriminatory, he said.
Weaker Forint
Speculation that the talks may collapse pushed the forint to a record low against the euro earlier this month. Orban’s pledge to change legislation to satisfy the 27-member EU helped local assets pare losses.
“I’m absolutely ready to discuss all issues, regardless How difficult these issues are, in an open manner and draw the conclusion - if it’s possible to draw the conclusion - and find an agreement together,” Orban told journalists in Brussels today after meeting with European Parliament President Martin Schulz. The government is pursuing “consolidation politics,” Orban, meet Barroso later in the day, said.
The forint, the worst-performing currency against the euro in the world in the past six months with an 11 percent decline, rallied 6 percent since touching a record low of 324.24 on Jan. 5. The currency weakened 0.6 percent to 301.65 per euro by 12:22 p.m. in Budapest.
The cost of insuring against default on Hungary’s debt with credit-default swaps was little changed at 594 basis points from yesterday and compared with a record high of 735 basis points on Jan. 5. A basis point is one hundredth of a percentage point. Hungary’s benchmark 10-year bonds weakened, lifting yields 4 basis points to 9.25 percent.
To contact the reporter on this story: Edith Balazs in Budapest at ebalazs1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: James M. Gomez at jagomez@bloomberg.net
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