Hungarian gov't to woo Brexit refugees

The Hungarian government aims to attract various important institutions of the European Union, as well as a larger group of western companies to Hungary from London, Economy Minister Mihály Varga is quoted by portfolio.hu from a pro-government newspaper.

The minister told the paper 'Magyar idõk' that Hungarian government will try to build on the expectation that several key institutions and large corporations could leave Great Britain due to the Brexit. Varga reminded that several EU organisations are headquartered in London and these supervisions and authorities will certainly relocate their HQs.

Varga thinks that Hungary could have a bigger role and influence if one or several of the EU institutions moving out of London would find a new place in Budapest. A host of economic advantages would be secured if the EU banking authority, for example, moved its HQ to Hungary. New financial actors, banks and investors could settle down in Hungary which would bring about a meaningful upturn in the banking sector, he added.

What Hungary can offer in these cases is to create the right operating conditions for the EU institutions, i.e. it can guarantee the most important infrastructural conditions. Hungary will do its best to participate in the race for the companies too, he added. 

In Varga’s view, the key task for Hungary is the simplification of tax treatment and tax administration. He pointed out that the tax package tabled by the Economy Ministry last week was designed to ease different bureaucratic burdens. Additional measures can be expected in this area, he added.