Today in Budapest, the contract for the Hungarian loan in the amount of half a billion euros for North Macedonia must be signed, BGNES reported.
Macedonian Finance Minister Gordana Dimitrieska-Kochoska announced last week that she will travel to Budapest on October 8 and that she will sign the agreement on the same day.
The Hungarian credit law, which was agreed upon by Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán while attending the NATO summit in Washington, was approved by the Macedonian parliament on September 17.
BGNES reminds that on paper the funds come from Budapest. In fact, the money is part of €1 billion loaned to Hungary by a consortium of Chinese banks earlier this year, a Vsquare investigation has shown. Budapest turns out to be only an intermediary.
Orbán's Fidesz and Mickoski's VMRO-DPMNE are allies. For years, Hungary has been hiding Mickoski's political father - Nikola Gruevski, former Macedonian Prime Minister and leader of DPMNE, sanctioned under the "Magnitsky" law. Orban finances a media empire in North Macedonia that spews powerful propaganda and hatred against Bulgaria. Hungary is also preparing to acquire a huge share of the Macedonian telecommunications sector.
The question remains as to why the Hungarian government has provided financial assistance to a foreign government at a time when it is itself facing enormous financial difficulties. Another question arises - how will Skopje repay the loan?
VMRO-DPMNE stated that the procedure is transparent and that for the first time there is a loan for which it is known in advance what it will be spent on and that it will help the municipalities and the economy.
The leader of the opposition party Social Democratic Union /SDSM/ stated that the Law on the loan from Hungary is "a big corruption project for which interest will be paid by future generations".
Otherwise, the loan from the Hungarian Export-Import Bank will be drawn in one tranche, and the term for its repayment is 15 years, including a three-year grace period. The terms of the loan, according to the government in Skopje, are favorable.
The interest rate is fixed at 3.25%. It provides for North Macedonia to pay the Hungarian Export-Import Bank, a private limited liability company, an undrawn commission of 0.5% of the loan annually. Repayment will be made in 24 semi-annual installments, on February 15 and August 15. | BGNES
