BERLIN, July 22 (UPI) -- Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban said there was "no point" talking to the International Monetary Fund, which has directed Hungary to tighten its budget.
With a $25.8 billion IMF bailout expiring in October, "There is no point in negotiating long-term questions with the IMF," Orban said.
In Berlin, after meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Orban said Hungary would deal with the European Union, instead of the IMF, the EUobserver reported Thursday.
At the heart of the issue is the IMF request that Hungary reduce its public debt-to-gross domestic product below 3 percent. The ratio stands now at 3.8 percent, a figure that took such draconian steps to obtain that Orban's predecessors in the Socialist party were swept out of office in the last election.
Orban is looking to avoid making further cuts that could cost him his job, the EUobserver said.
Addressing reporters after the meeting, Merkel said, " "Hungary in the long term must return to a stable footing. With a deficit of 3.8 percent it doesn't look that bad, although we have to look at next year."
