Hungary prolongs state of emergency over war in Ukraine

This is reported by Bloomberg, Ukrinform saw.

The continuation of the National Assembly will allow Orbán to issue decrees and repeal laws avoiding regular parliamentary procedures.

Hungary has been in various states of emergency since 2016, when the government declared a so-called state of emergency due to the migration crisis. In 2020, Parliament expanded the government's powers citing the Covid pandemic.

Then, in mid-2022, the National Assembly explained Russia's invasion of Ukraine, citing constitutional changes that allowed decrees to be passed in situations where war breaks out in a neighboring state.

Civil society groups, including Amnesty International, have said emergency laws are being misused to undermine checks and balances, often in areas of day-to-day governance that have little to do with an emergency.

Although Orbán's Fidesz party enjoys a two-thirds majority in the Hungarian parliament, the power to issue decrees allows the government to speed up legal changes in a country where Orbán is trying to eliminate checks and balances on his rule. The EU is withholding about EUR 20 billion ($21.8 billion) in funding slated for Hungary because of rule of law concerns.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, Prime Minister Viktor Orban claims that the EU leadership is trying to deprive him of power and impose a "puppet" opposition government on Hungary.