LMP to turn to top court over government decree on public hearings

At a press conference, deputy group leader Antal Csardi noted the decree published on April 27 which states that a public hearing can be conducted during a public administrative procedure without the actual presence of the affected members of the public.

Csardi called the decree “absurd”, saying that with its approval, the Fidesz-led government “has created a system that hushes up the public”.

He said that with its earlier measure that “practically bans” a national referendum, Fidesz had already left little room for the Hungarian people to have a say in in social affairs. The new decree makes any public hearing impossible, which means that the people will have no opportunity at all to give their opinion or ask questions on such important issues as the construction of battery plants, Csardi said.

He said that the government was afraid to hear the opinion of Hungarian people because it had “things to hide” from them, adding that these included “the immeasurable threat to the environment” of battery plants.