Brussels, 14/02/2013 (Agence Europe) - The leader of the S&D Group at the European Parliament, Hannes Swoboda (Austria), has warned Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban about the consequences of recent discussions started in his country that aim to reduce the powers of the constitutional court, Swoboda said in a press release. The Hungarian parliament has, indeed, begun to debate new amendments to the country's constitution - amendments that would, for example, lead to the court not being able to make reference to judgments made prior to 1 January 2012, AFP reports, or that would lead to the court not being able to give its opinion on the content of amendments but just on their legality.
In Swoboda's view, Orban should not take the recent positive comments about his country made by the European Commission and the Council of Europe “as encouragement for his negative, dangerous policies”, Swoboda writes. He believes that the European Commission must follow developments in Hungary closely. “Changes to the constitution must not be imposed by a parliamentary majority but must be reached through debate with the opposition and civil society.” (SP/transl.fl)