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EBRD's shareholder representatives visit Hungary
Representatives of the shareholders of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development begin a four-day visit to Hungary late Sunday. It will be the first visit by EBRD Board members to Hungary since 1999.
The Board of Directors represents the Bank's 62 public shareholders and approves all Bank projects. The goal of the visit is to learn more about the state of reforms and economic transition in Hungary as it prepares to join the EU, expected in May 2004.
Representatives of the Board in the delegation will be Scott Clark, representing Canada and Morocco; Michael Neumayr, representing Austria, Israel, Cyprus, Malta, Kazakhstan, and Bosnia and Herzegovina; Imre Tarafas and Igor Ocka, representing Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovak Republic and Croatia; Torsten Gersfelt, representing Denmark, Ireland, Lithuania and the FYR Macedonia; Gary Johnston, representing Korea, Australia, New Zealand and Egypt: and Clemens Kerres, representing Germany. They will be accompanied by Hubert Warsmann, head of the EBRD Resident Office in Hungary, and Alain Pilloux, EBRD Business Group Director for Central Europe.
The visit will give the Board members the opportunity to meet Hungary's EBRD Governor, Minister of Finance Csaba Laszlo, as well as other senior government officials, representatives of the diplomatic community and civil society, and investors. The delegation will also visit several projects in which the Bank has invested, among them the AKA Motorway Company, which is behind the M5 motorway, and Vivendi Telecom Hungary, the country's second-largest telecoms company.
The Bank recognises the fast and sound economic reforms that have made Hungary an example for other countries in transition on many aspects such as privatisation and treatment of property rights. Last year's budget deficit, which according to preliminary figures was 10 per cent of GDP, and a considerable slowdown of foreign direct investment in 2002 remain concerns.
The EBRD has committed more than €1.3 billion through 60 projects in Hungary. Going forward, the EBRD expects to play an active and important role in Hungary, focusing on the promotion of the local private sector, the financial sector, and infrastructure and environment investments.
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