Hungary's main political parties have come to a mutual agreement on Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's proposed changes to the constitution, following Hungary's 98 percent 'no' vote in the referendum on the EU's forced migraton quotas.
The ruling Fidesz and KDNP parties along with opposition party Jobbik reached the decision following a number of lengthy discussions.
The Socialists (MSZP) and green LMP party did not attend the meeting, however, despite their absence the three main parties have more than enough of a majority to pass the proposal in Parliament.
Lajos Kósa, the Fidesz parliamentary leader, said that the three parties agreed that only the Hungarian parliament should have a right to determine the rules governing how non-Hungarian and non-EU citizens can enter and live in Hungary, and that only Hungarian authorities can rule on asylum requests from third-country nationals.
Kósa added that talks on the proposal were ongoing on two levels: alongside the talks among the parliamentary parties, the prime minister is conducting his own series of talks with the other party leaders. He criticized the Socialists and LMP for sitting out the meeting.
János Volner, the Jobbik party leader, said that with the amendment, Hungary would gain substantive legal protection from migrant redistribution quotas. He said his party had proposed that the Hungarian parliament should clarify the scope of third-country nationals and make the law governing the settlement of foreign nationals in Hungary a two-thirds law.