13/02/2025 (Agence Europe) – On Tuesday 18 February, the Council of the European Union is expected to formally endorse Hungary’s multiannual budget programme, which sets out the following four-year trajectory for the annual increase in net public expenditure: 4.3% in 2025, 4.0% in 2026, 3.9% in 2027 and 3.7% in 2028 (see EUROPE 13560/20). On the same day, the EU Council will adopt its recommendation for the reduction of Hungary’s excessive deficit, which is the subject of a specific infringement procedure. Budapest aims to reduce its public deficit to below 3% of national GDP by 2026. The timetable for presenting the multiannual budget programmes of the five EU countries that have not yet done so is as follows: - end of February for Bulgaria; - mid-March for Belgium; - end of April for Austria, Lithuania and Germany. See Hungary’s multiannual budget programme: https://aeur.eu/f/fhc (MB)