Hungary Extends State of Emergency, Granting Prime Minister Orban Broad Powers to Govern

The Hungarian parliament has voted to extend the state of emergency until May next year, giving Prime Minister Viktor Orban broad powers to govern the country, Bloomberg reports.

In particular, the extension of the state of emergency will allow Orban to issue decrees and repeal laws without regular parliamentary procedures. Although Orban's ruling Fidesz party has a two-thirds majority in the Hungarian parliament, the right to issue decrees allows the government to accelerate legal changes in a country where Orban is trying to eliminate the system of checks and balances for his power, which is focused on close cooperation with Russia.

Currently, the EU is withholding the disbursement of about €20 billion in funding earmarked for Hungary due to the country's problems with the rule of law.

Since 2016, Hungary has been in various states of emergency, when the government declared a so-called state of danger due to the migration crisis.

In 2020, the parliament expanded the government's powers, citing the Covid-19 pandemic.

Then, in 2022, the state of emergency was explained by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, citing constitutional changes that allowed for decrees to be passed in situations where war broke out in a neighbouring state.

In contrast, civil society groups, including Amnesty International, have said that emergency laws have been abused to undermine checks and balances, often in areas of day-to-day governance that have little to do with an emergency.