Tisza Party MP Márton Mellethei-Barna submitted the bill preparing the release of the files concerning the communist-era state security apparatus late on Tuesday.

According to the bill available on the website of parliament, a comprehensive review of of the documents held by the national security services is required. The review covers documents created before February 14, 1990, as well as data created before that date that were subsequently stored, and the conditions of storage.

The public, in particular experts conducting academic research in this field, must be involved in the review, as this is the only way to ensure that the review can take place under democratic conditions and the opportunity for full redress of information can be realised, the proposal said.

The amendment establishes an advisory committee to assist the review of classified documents, which will assist the review with specific recommendations and will also inform the public about these activities. The committee will have eleven members, proposed by the ministers in charge of the national security services and the minister for culture.

Péter Magyar: We promised, we’ll get it done

The government has submitted a bill serving the release of the files concerning the communist-era state security apparatus, Prime Minister Péter Magyar said on Facebook on Wednesday. “We promised, we’ll get it done. This will pay off a decade-long debt,” Magyar said.

Ruff calls extraordinary session of parliament to discuss communist-era agent files

The head of the Prime Minister’s Office has called an extraordinary session of parliament for next Monday and Tuesday with a bill on its agenda aimed at publishing files concerning secret agents in Hungary’s communist times.

Balint Ruff has also proposed that a bill designed to scrap the Sovereignty Protection Office, a proposal concerning the salaries of mayors and county-level officials, as well as bills concerning health care and tax changes should be on the extraordinary session’s agenda.

Parliament next week could also debate a draft resolution aimed at setting up a Hungarian chapter within the Interparliamentary Union, sponsored by opposition MPs, according to parliament’s website.

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