BUDAPEST, June 30 (Xinhua) -- Hungary's parliament on Tuesday approved a bill to abolish the Sovereignty Protection Office, with 135 lawmakers voting in favor, 44 against and six abstaining.
The bill was submitted by Marton Mellethei-Barna, deputy leader of the Tisza parliamentary group. The Fidesz-KDNP party alliance, led by former Prime Minister Viktor Orban, voted against the bill, while the far-right Mi Hazank (Our Homeland) party abstained.
Abolishing the office, which was established under Orban's government, was a key campaign promise of the Tisza party before it took office earlier this year. The law will take effect 15 days after its promulgation.
According to the legislation, the Sovereignty Protection Office "does not perform any actual public function" and its establishment merely served "political intentions and interests."
The office, which began operating on Feb. 1, 2024, will be dissolved and its assets transferred to the Ministry of Justice. Under the new law, however, the ministry will not inherit or carry out the office's former functions.
The mandates of the office's president and deputy presidents will terminate once the legislation takes effect. Employees of the office will be dismissed with severance pay in accordance with Hungary's civil service laws.
The move follows parliament's adoption on June 15 of the 16th amendment to Hungary's Fundamental Law, the country's constitution, which removed the constitutional provision establishing the office, paving the way for its legal dissolution.
The Sovereignty Protection Office was established under legislation passed in late 2023 with the stated aim of protecting Hungary's national sovereignty from foreign political interference. ■
