Top Hungarian Business Leader Calls For Euro Adoption

The head of one of Hungary's biggest manufacturers called for euro adoption after policies under Prime Minister Viktor Orban produced one of the worst economic crises in the European Union in the past year. Zoltan Simon reported for Bloomberg News.

Hungary comes from a year-long recession, a brush with a currency crisis, the bloc's fastest inflation, and the suspension of crucial EU funding over democratic concerns.

After a year-long recession, a brush with a currency crisis, the bloc's fastest inflation, and the suspension of crucial EU funding over democratic concerns, Hungary should waste no time committing to joining the euro and embracing the EU's values, according to Otto Sinko, the co-chief executive officer of contract manufacturer Videoton Zrt.

"A timetable for euro adoption would by itself have a stabilizing factor, especially if it's coupled with political steps that would make peace with the EU," Sinko said in a written response to Bloomberg questions.

Brussels and Budapest have been in a standoff over democratic values after more than a decade of power consolidation by Orban, with graft and rule-of-law concerns paving the way for a halt in more than $30 billion in EU financing.

At the same time, Orban's government has grown closer to Russia and China even as much of the rest of the EU takes measures to curb their influence.

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