"The cabinet on Wednesday approved the last agreement necessary for the US visa-waiving programme and gave the authorisation for signing the document, Foreign Ministry state secretary Márta Fekszi Horváth told reporters.Under the agreement Hungary will not have to give the US personal data such as sexual orientation, political affiliation and trade union membership, although finger prints and DNA samples from police records will be exchanged.
Horváth said the cabinet will submit a proposal to Parliament once Justice and Law Enforcement Minister Tibor Draskovics and US ambassador April H. Foley sign it in Budapest. The House could then debate it in a fast-track procedure.
The US embassy in Budapest welcomed the approval. A US official said Hungary could even join the visa-waiving programme before the end of the Bush administration. On another matter Horváth announced that Hungary will bid for provisional membership of the UN Security Council for the years 2012-13, and for participation in the UN Human Rights Council."
Source: Hungary Around the Clock.
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29.09.2008