EU Presses Hungary to Make Further Spending Cuts

 　　The European Union is heightening its pressure on Hungary for reforms, saying that it has failed to effectively control its budget deficit¹ and that its new constitution may be unlawful.

　　EU economy minister Olli Rehn said Wednesday that the Budapest government has failed to permanently² keep its deficit spending below the EU-mandated level of 3 percent of the country's economic output.

　　"It is on an unsustainable path and will reach about 3 percent next year and thus again breach³ the reference value of the treaty. This is why we have concluded that Hungary has not taken effective action in response to the council recommendations," said Rehn.

　　Rehn said the EU could withhold⁴ development funds for Hungary if it does not curtail⁵ its spending.

　　Meanwhile, the EU also said it is nearing completion of a review to determine whether Hungary's new constitution violates EU standards by curtailing⁶ the independence of the country's judges, the central bank and its data protection agency. Some critics say the constitutional changes pushed through by Prime Minister Viktor Orban's parliamentary majority in December could return the one-time Soviet-bloc country to an authoritarian⁷ state.

　　Hungary is seeking a bailout of up to $25 billion from the EU and International Monetary⁸ Union, but talks were suspended over the assistance after the central bank provisions were approved.

　　Meanwhile, even Germany, Europe's economic powerhouse, said it is not immune from the effects of the continent's slowing economy and the effects of the two-year governmental debt crisis. Germany said Wednesday its economy shrunk by a quarter of a percentage point in the last three months of 2011.

1 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

2 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

3 breach   

n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破

参考例句：

• We won't have any breach of discipline.我们不允许任何破坏纪律的现象。
• He was sued for breach of contract.他因不履行合同而被起诉。

4 withhold   

v.拒绝，不给；使停止，阻挡

参考例句：

• It was unscrupulous of their lawyer to withhold evidence.他们的律师隐瞒证据是不道德的。
• I couldn't withhold giving some loose to my indignation.我忍不住要发泄一点我的愤怒。

5 curtail   

vt.截短，缩短；削减

参考例句：

• The government hopes to curtail public spending.政府希望缩减公共事业开支。
• The minister had to curtail his visit.部长不得不缩短访问日期。

6 curtailing   

v.截断，缩短( curtail的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• They will be curtailing the discussions at two thirty. 他们将把讨论缩短至两点半。 来自互联网
• Individually, banks are acting rationally by retaining their capital and curtailing lending. 此外，银行们正在合理地保留其资本和减少贷款。 来自互联网

7 authoritarian   

n./adj.专制(的)，专制主义者，独裁主义者

参考例句：

• Foreign diplomats suspect him of authoritarian tendencies.各国外交官怀疑他有着独裁主义倾向。
• The authoritarian policy wasn't proved to be a success.独裁主义的政策证明并不成功。

8 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。