Constitutional amendment: Orbán creates basis for further state of emergency

Shortly before the current COVID state of emergency expires at the end of the month, Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has found a way to continue governing by decree. The parliament in Budapest created a new category of state of emergency for this purpose on Tuesday. The government can now declare a state of emergency if a neighboring country is affected by an armed conflict, war, or humanitarian disaster. Ukraine, against which Russia has been waging a war of aggression for three months, is one of Hungary’s neighbors. The 136 deputies of the right-wing nationalist Fidesz party voted in favor of the corresponding constitutional amendment.