Fidesz to submit public finance amendment by mid-November

Budapest (MTI) – Governing Fidesz will submit to parliament an amendment to the public finance law by mid-November, “making it possible to take a stand on residency bonds”, Lajos Kósa, the party’s group leader, said on Monday.

The opposition Jobbik party has said it will only support a constitutional amendment initiated by the prime minister to reflect the outcome of Hungary’s Oct 2. referendum on mandatory EU migrant quotas on condition the government scraps residency bonds. A constitutional amendment requires the support of two-thirds of 199 lawmakers to pass. The governing parties have 131 mandates.

Kósa told a press conference that parliamentary groups would still hold consultations on the constitutional amendment on Wednesday, adding that lawmakers may debate the related bill in parliament. Responding to a question he said that “no backdoor deals had been brokered with various lawmakers” concerning the final vote on the constitutional amendment.

Kósa would not say whether a final vote planned originally in parliament on Nov. 8 would in fact be held.