Orbán’s cabinet plans to tighten laws to guarantee security

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Budapest, 2017. augusztus 14. Rendõrök helyszínelnek a miskolci Áfonyás úton egy panelháznál, amelynek egyik ötödik emeleti ablakából kiesett egy hat év körüli gyermek 2017. augusztus 14-én. A mentõk a gyermeket a Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén Megyei Kórházba szállították, állapotáról a család kérésére nem ad tájékoztatást az egészségügyi intézmény. MTI Fotó: Vajda János

Hungary’s government sees a need to tighten laws so as to guarantee the security of people, the government spokesman said on Friday.

The government has therefore asked Interior Minister Sándor Pintér to step up preparations for such legislation, Zoltán Kovács told the press in the interval of a cabinet meeting.

Although Hungary is ranked among the world’s ten safest countries, “we have no reason to sit back” because Europe’s security situation has never been as fragile as it is today, he said.

Tightening security is a priority for all EU member states, including Hungary, Kovács said. As we wrote, Barcelona attack and other recent events have demonstrated that the terror threat has become stronger than ever in Europe, Hungary’s foreign minister said on Tuesday.

The interior minister has proposed that the government should extend the “state of emergency due to mass migration”, which would otherwise expire in early September. The government is scheduled to pass a decision on the issue next week, the spokesman said.

Asked about which laws might be amended, Kovács said that some laws in force and all the related European legislations would be reviewed, with a focus on those governing border protection and the secret services.

Responding to a question, the spokesman said that the government would soon pass decisions on planned amendments to the national security law.

It is not a novelty, however, that the interior ministry and the security services are investigating national security risks concerning an investor, Kovács said.

Netherlands diplomacy affair

He said that the government, in agreement with Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó, considers outgoing Dutch ambassador Gajus Scheltema’s statement that Islamic extremism “applies the same principles to create an enemy as the Hungarian government” as “totally unacceptable”.

“The ambassador has clearly drawn a parallel between the terrorists’ way of thinking and the actions of the Hungarian government. There is no need for such unprecedented statements either in bilateral relations or on a European level,” he said.

The government expects The Netherlands to take steps concerning the affair, he said.

Photo: MTI

Source: MTI

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