The member states of the European Union advocate sound budget policy. That was the conclusion observers drew from the two-day informal meeting of Economic and Finance Ministers (ECOFIN) in Hungary this past week-end.

As a result of a EUR 3.75 billion US dollar bond issuance at the end of March, Hungary’s international reserves jumped to an all-time high EUR 35.7 billion in the third month of 2011, according to the central bank (NBH) on Thursday.

The Minister of National Development, Tamás Fellegi says the Paks Nuclear Power Plant, the only such plant in Hungary, is safe and will stand the stress test. He made the statement following his visit to the plant this week.

The European Commission sees clear signs in the measures in Hungary’s reform package that the country is on the right track towards fiscal consolidation, European Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs Olli Rehn said in Brussels.

Hungary is set to go ahead with appointing four new external members to the Monetary Council of its central bank, under the new nomination rules passed by parliament, despite stark remarks by the president of the European Central Bank.

The government's Széll Kálmán Plan seeks to eliminate the danger of indebtedness both at the individual and the national level, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán wrote in his introduction to the program unveiled on Tuesday.

The Hungarian government and the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) on Thursday signed a strategic partnership agreement that aims to foster a closer cooperation and give lawmakers an ear to private sector proposals.

Hungary should adopt a unified bidding system for R & D if financing is to be tapped effectively, József Pálinkás, Chairman of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, told a innovation conference in Budapest's ELTE University on Wednesday.

Hungary plans to introduce electronic road toll before phasing out the flat-rate toll in the following years, local daily Népszabadság reported on Monday. The vehicles likely to be hit the hardest will be the biggest trucks.

The European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Olli Rehn has contacted the Hungarian government in writing, asking for a list of planned reform steps, the Hungarian business daily Világgazdaság said on Tuesday.

A proposal by the head of the parliamentary group of the governing Fidesz to cut state subsidies for renewable energy is being reviewed by the Ministry of National Development. The draft would alter agreements already negotiated by the Ministry.

Decision-making is usually a complicated matter in the corporate world. Recently, a research has been conducted to examine how the heads of corporations arrive at their decisions in Hungary. The most important results were discussed at a conference.

Holders of mandatory private pensions who face losses unless they switch to the state system by the end of January have made over 200 complaints to the Constitutional Court, the daily Népszabadság said on Wednesday.

All economic priorities of the Hungarian presidency serve to strengthen the position of the European Union, Hungarian Economy Minister Gyorgy Matolcsy said at an EP committee hearing in Brussels on Monday.

Hungary's New Széchenyi Plan, an economic development plan, will invest HUF 7,000 billion (EUR 25.5bn) between 2011 and 2014 in various business projects and infrastructure, boosting the investment rate by an annual 5 percentage points.