Parliament has voted to empower the government to prolong the state of emergency in connection with the war in Ukraine until November 25.
On Wednesday, the motion was supported by 132 votes in favor, while 58 deputies voted against changing the law on rules to be applied in case of war in a neighboring country as well as in the case of humanitarian disasters. According to the law sponsored by the justice minister, an extended state of emergency is needed to handle the humanitarian catastrophe caused by the war in Ukraine and to tackle the economic consequences. The bill was designed to “ensure all means to assist and accommodate refugees, fence off the negative economic impacts … and help the country leave behind the impacts of the war as soon as possible”, its preamble said.
Meanwhile, lawmakers have passed a package on the judiciary which is important in terms of European Union procedures related to Hungary. The law strengthens the National Judicial Council (OBT), setting additional conditions for who can head the Kúria (supreme court) and the National Office of the Judiciary (OBH). MPs approved the justice-related laws in connection with the Hungarian EU recovery and resilience plan by 151 votes in favour and 23 abstentions. Among other things, the new provisions ensure that the OBT will have its own secretariat, an independent budget, and its purview will be expanded.