Hungary amends its constitution to appease EU

The EU, the United States and human rights groups have accused Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government of using constitutional amendments to limit the powers of Hungary’s top court and weaken democracy in the former Soviet satellite.
Lawmakers late on 16 September approved the amendments drafted by the government after the European Commission threatened to take legal action against the steps, some of which it said could run against EU norms and the principle of the rule of law.
Orbán, 50, whose ruling Fidesz party faces a parliamentary election in the first half of next year, had earlier dismissed criticism that the reforms were anti-democratic and promised full cooperation with Brussels to address its concerns.
The government reasoning attached to the amendments said Budapest put forward the remedies to defuse potential conflicts over the constitution after a number of clashes in past years over laws affecting the judiciary and the central bank.
It said the changes were proposed “so that certain constitutional matters cannot be used as a pretext for further attacks against Hungary going forward”.
The amendments will allow political parties to run campaigns in both state-funded and private media ahead of parliamentary and European Parliament elections due next year, removing a prior restriction for such adverts to state outlets only.

Euractive (continue reading)