Hungary “could push for EU treaty change after referendum”

PanARMENIAN.Net - Hungary's government could press changes to the European Union's fundamental Lisbon Treaty to strengthen members' sovereign powers if it wins clear victory in a referendum on rejecting migrant quotas, the daily Nepszabadsag said on Wednesday, Sept. 21, according to Reuters.

With less than two weeks until an Oct. 2 referendum on whether Hungary should reject EU migrant quotas, Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who opposes immigration into the EU, has largely managed to seal the country's southern border to migrants.

This has cemented support for his ruling Fidesz party as he prepares for a 2018 election, but drawn criticism from some rights groups.

Nepszabadsag said if more than half of Hungary's eight million voters cast a valid vote in the referendum, likely to show strong support for the government, Orban, a key figure in a eurosceptic alliance of ex-Communist east European states, could use the momentum to bolster his efforts to rein in Brussels.

The report, which did not name its source, said Hungary could propose exempting national migration rules from common European policies, trouncing any scheme to share responsibility for migrants among EU member states. It gave no further details.