BUDAPEST (Reuters) – Hungary’s ruling Fidesz party wants to amend the constitution in order to ensure that the European Union cannot force the country to resettle migrants, the national news agency MTI reported on Thursday, citing the party’s parliamentary leader.
Hungary and some other ex-communist countries in eastern Europe strongly oppose the EU’s efforts to persuade member states to share the burden of taking in the mainly Muslim migrants seeking asylum in the bloc.
The constitutional amendment was submitted by Prime Minister Viktor Orban to parliament in 2016, but it failed to muster the required two-thirds majority after opposition party Jobbik blocked its passage.
But in an April 8 election Orban’s party won a third straight term with more than two thirds of seats, giving it the power to pass constitutional amendments.
Categories: Europe, Europe and Australia, European Union, Hungary