Martin Schulz roept Hongarije op grondwetswijzigingen te herzien (en)

European Parliament President Martin Schulz i made the following statement on the planned constitutional amendment in Hungary, following a telephone call with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán i:

"There are concerns in the European Parliament about recent proposals to amend the Hungarian constitution. I conveyed this message to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in a telephone conversation on Friday.

I recommended to the Prime Minister to urgently ask the Venice Commission i of the Council of Europe for its Opinion before the Hungarian Parliament votes on those amendments.

During our conversation, Prime Minister Orbán promised to send to European Commission President José Manuel Barroso i, to whom he had spoken only an hour earlier, and to myself a letter clarifying the matter.

The Hungarian authorities promised last year not to make any legal changes that would be incompatible with European laws or standards. I expect those promises to be kept."