Justice Minister Judit Varga said the “attacks” on Hungary over its epidemic response law are “baseless and politically motivated”.
Following a videoconference of the European Union’s General Affairs Council (GAC), the minister told MTI that if parliament approves a bill the government submitted on Tuesday asking for its emergency powers granted during the coronavirus epidemic to be rescinded, the special powers will be revoked on June 20, much earlier than “in countless European states”.
Regarding Hungary’s coronavirus response, Minister Varga said that thanks to the special powers granted to the government, Hungary could handle the “first phase” of the epidemic successfully. Tuesday’s motion shows that the government’s measures were “not only necessary, proportionate and successful but also temporary,” she said.
Finally, in relation to the European Union’s package on economic stimulus and the bloc’s next seven-year budget, Minister Varga said the pandemic had impacted the economies of all member states. “Successful protection should not be punished with regrouping resources,” she said. The distribution of funding must take into consideration the “development of member states, the degree of economic setback and geographic balance,” she said.