EU concerns over Hungarian laws

EU concerns over Hungarian laws

Published: Just now

fullscreen Hungarian President Katalin Novák. Archive image. Photo: Efrem Lukatsky/AP/TT

New legislative proposals in Hungary are raising concerns among five party groups in the EU Parliament who want the Commission to act to protect democracy and basic human rights.

In a joint letter across party lines from the Christian-democratic conservative EPP, the social-democratic S&D, the liberal RE, the Left and the Greens, “deep concern” is expressed about the development.

It is partly about a new education law, where employers are given the right to monitor teachers’ electronic equipment, and partly about a new whistleblower law where Hungarians are given the opportunity to report abuses against “the constitutionally recognized role of marriage and the family”. The latter has been seen by critics as a way to get residents to report people living in same-sex relationships.

The whistleblower team has also raised unexpected opposition at home in Hungary. President Katalin Novak wants to see changes, as she believes it risks dividing society, reports the AP news agency.

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