Hungarian FM calls Moody's downgrade unjustified

Recent downgrade of Hungary by the international credit rating agency Moody's is completely unjustified, Foreign Minister János Martonyi told the BBC's HardTalk on Wednesday. Moody's downgraded Hungary on Monday to just a notch above junk status.

"It is a huge mistake," Martonyi said. "People are worrying about our being financed in two or three years' time. We will resolve it, believe me," he said.

"If we can meet the deficit targets this year next year and 2012, why should there be a problem?" he added.

Asked about criticism of a lack of spending cuts "I could tell you stories about how my ministry is suffering under those restrictions."

"Hungary is the only country which took the courage to reduce the political class by half", he said.

On criticism over the newly-introduced banking tax, Martonyi said other countries were following in Hungary's footsteps to introduce such measures.

Hungary has pledged to go ahead with measures such as introducing a flat 16 percent personal income tax next year with revenue planned to be raised from a new taxes on various sectors and rechannelling people's savings from private to state pension funds.