Hungarian government aims to lift coronavirus state of emergency on June 20
The Hungarian government aims to end the state of emergency it had introduced in response to the novel coronavirus outbreak on June 20, Justice Minister Judit Varga said on Tuesday.
“A bill calling on the government to end the state of emergency will be submitted to Parliament today,” Varga wrote on her Facebook page.
“With the adoption of the act, the state of emergency is expected to end on June 20 in Hungary, much earlier than in many European countries,” she added.
Hungary has performed well in an international comparison, she said, and also completed successfully the first phase of defense, which she argued was due to the introduction of a special legal order, which allowed the government to act quickly and effectively against the pandemic.
The Hungarian government declared a state of emergency in response to the coronavirus outbreak on March 11. On March 30, Parliament granted special powers to the government of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to battle the novel coronavirus.
During the state of emergency, the government governs by decrees. Elections, by-elections and referendums are not permitted throughout the emergency period.
“In recent months, the Hungarian government has been attacked with baseless allegations, but the misleading information about us has proved to be false again,” Varga said.
She also said that she expected those who falsely accused the Hungarian government to present apologies: “We expect those who have attacked us with unjust political accusations to apologize for leading a slander campaign instead of cooperating in defense.”
According to official figures, the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Hungary stood at 3,771 on Tuesday, with 1,836 recoveries and 499 fatalities.