LMP to help top court review on national parks

Budapest (MTI) – The opposition green party LMP will submit information to the Constitutional Court to provide assistance in a preliminary review about the amendment of the law on Hungary’s land assets, including national parks, requested by President Janos Ader.

Party lawmaker Benedek R Sallai said in a statement on Sunday, marking the European Day of Parks, that LMP will submit an “amicus curiae” to complement Ader’s remarks in connection with the amendment of the law on managing state land.

The amended land management bill on transferring asset management rights of state-owned land, including national parks, to the National Land Management Fund (NFA) was passed at the end of April in a second vote after it failed to gather two-thirds majority support two weeks earlier.

Sallai said it was clear that withdrawing asset management rights from the national parks will hinder them fulfilling their tasks and threaten citizens’ constitutional rights to healthy environment.

The opposition PM said in a statement also on Sunday that national parks should be protected from the ruling Fidesz party’s “predatory politics”. Board member Rebeka Szabo said Hungary has become the worst-performing European state in environmental protection under the Orban government, with financial support to Hungary’s ten national parks dropping to less than half since 2010.

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters