Brussels, 21/11/2011 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 21 November, the European Commission officially acknowledged receipt of a request from Hungary for financial aid from the European Union, if required. A similar request has been lodged with the International Monetary Fund. The Hungarian government says that its request is to avoid future problems. No figures were mentioned in the letter to the president of the European Commission, José Manuel Durão Barroso, said a spokesman for EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn on Monday, adding that it would first be necessary to see whether the macroeconomic conditions had been met. The ten-year interest rate demanded on Hungarian bonds is currently above 8%, while its public debt has increased from 75% to 82% of GDP in the space of three months. In 2011, the country had a budget surplus of 3.6% but the European Commission's Autumn Economic Forecasts suggest it will enter deficit in 2012 (to the tune of 2.8% of GDP). In 2008, Budapest requested €20 billion in aid from the EU, the IMF and the World Bank. (MB/transl.fl)