Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto announced on June 19 that his country’s parliament would proceed to vote on the controversial “Stop Soros” bill, despite the recommendation of the Council of Europe to wait until its advisory body on constitutional matters submits a review of the bill.
“Yes, there will be a voting session tomorrow, and our parliamentary group will vote in favour of the proposal,” Foreign Minister Szijjarto said on June 19. He confirmed that Hungary was choosing to hold the vote place prior to the Venice Commission’s conclusions due to be released on June 22.
Passage of the “Stop Soros” bill, which is part of Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s push against EU migration policies and the Hungarian-American financier George Soros, will make it illegal for people or organisations to provide help to undocumented immigrants.
As reported by Deutsche Welle (DW), Germany’s international broadcaster, Hungary accuses Soros of backing mass migration to Europe and providing support to civic groups that give legal aid to asylum-seekers and refugees.
Commission chief Gianni Buquicchio had asked the Hungarian foreign minister Peter Szijjarto on Monday to wait until the commission published its recommendations or at least to take the Commission’s preliminary views into account, which already been shared with Hungarian officials.
