By Martin Banks - 19th January 2012
We have Christian beliefs
Viktor Orbán
Hungary's under-fire premier Viktor Orbán will meet commission president José Manuel Barroso next week in an effort to defuse rising tension over the country's recently reformed constitution.
The pair are due to meet in Brussels on Tuesday to discuss the commission's concerns about the laws.
On Wednesday, Orbán appeared in parliament in Strasbourg where he attempted to defend his government's policies.
In the face of stiff criticism from MEPs, he offered to change details of controversial new laws but rejected claims that his country was sliding toward authoritarianism.
In a speech at the plenary, Orbán sought to defuse the mounting criticism of his government, including a decision on Tuesday by the commission to start legal action against Hungary over the new laws.
The infringement proceedings against Hungary allege that provisions in its laws threaten both the independence of its central bank and of the judiciary.
This comes with the planned forced retirement of approximately 300 senior judges through a reduction of their retirement age from 70 to 62.
The commission also alleges that the new laws threaten the independence of Hungary's data protection authority.
The executive has told Budapest it must alter a raft of legislation if it is to avoid legal action within a month and win approval for a financial rescue package.
The issues raised by the commission "could swiftly be resolved and remedied", Orbán told MEPs.
Hungary's embattled prime minister told parliament he had responded to the commission's allegations by letter.
Defending his government's approach and Hungary's political culture, Orbán said he was sure the problems with the legislation would be resolved quickly.
He said, "We have Christian beliefs, and we believe being part of the nation and family is important.
"Maybe there are many in this chamber that feel differently, but I think it is still a European value and we are free to represent this view."
Even so, the embattled prime minister came under renewed fire during a heated debate in Strasbourg.
ALDE leader Guy Verhofstadt said, "I have here a document, a document of in total 30 breaches of the treaty.
"So to say that there's no problem today in Hungary, and that there is no big problem, I am astonished by that."
Other group leaders criticised the disputed laws with Greens/EFA co-leader Daniel Cohn-Bendit declaring, "There has been constitutional reform, yes, but reform can either go in the right direction or the wrong direction.
"What we're telling you is that this is going in the same direction as Mr Chavez and Mr Castro and totalitarian and authoritarian regimes around the world which we are trying to fight with you."
Further criticism has come from political group leaders in the Committee of the Regions (CoR) who said that local authorities would suffer under the revised constitution.
CoR president Mercedes Bresso said, "If the very principles of local democracy are at risk, an EU which is a community of values needs to react.
"I call on the Hungarian authorities to engage in real and constructive dialogue in order to resolve these issues as quickly as possible."
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