Leftists slam Hungary’s new constitution

In their letter to Mr Tusk, leftist MPs write that in view of the special character of Polish-Hungarian relations, the historical bonds of the two nations and traditional friendship, Poland should not remain indifferent to the recent developments in Hungary.

The letter mentions the adoption of a new constitution, which came into force on 1 January that has been criticised by Amnesty International and other international organizations, and led to mass protests by the opposition and civic organizations.

The new constitution, pushed through by the centre-right Hungarian government under Prime Minister Viktor Orban, has been criticsed by EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding, who has raised questions about the independence of the national judiciary as well as data protection and media freedoms.

The EU, along with the IMF are so concerned that they have broken off the negotiations for a 20 billion euro bailout package requested by Hungary after MPs in PM Orban’s Fidesz party approved a central bank law that expands the rate-setting Monetary Council while curbing the power of central bank President Andras Simor.

The EU has also appointed a task force led by the former President of Latvia to review new, restrictive media laws and recommend how they could be rectified.

“It is amazing that the Polish government has not reacted in any way to the situation in Hungary,” the SLD MPs write to Poland’s Prime Minister. (pg/mk)