Hungarian Opposition Slams Classification Of Paks Project

  • 4 Mar 2015 7:00 AM
Hungarian Opposition Slams Classification Of Paks Project
The opposition Democratic Coalition said the next government would have to lift the classification of data concerning the Paks nuclear plant. It is unclear whether the 30 years applies from the completion of the project or on the date when the contract is fulfilled, so in practice it could mean “sixty to a hundred years” from now, deputy leader László Varju said.

The Russian loan to be taken out for the Paks expansion project puts Hungary at serious risk, he said. The PM party said the government “wants to make a gigantic heist legal and delay the possibility of getting caught” by Tuesday’s vote.

Co-chair Tímea Szabó said that Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and the Fidesz group “will not avoid going to prison.” She added that the classification is unconstitutional and it contravenes the law on access to information on environmental issues and the Aarhus convention on public consultation.

The green opposition LMP said it would turn to the president, the Constitutional Court and the ombudsman to complain against the vote on classification. Co-chair Bernadett Szél said the majority of lawmakers who approved the law would not be active in 30 years when the secrecy is lifted.

Government claims that secrecy in such cases is a European standard is untrue, she said, citing French, Finnish and British examples showing that data is publicly available in such basic matters. If everything is classified, it will be impossible to prevent corruption, she said.

The opposition Együtt party said classification was against the constitution. Zsuzsanna Szelényi noted that Együtt had asked President János Áder withhold his signature from the law and request a preliminary review from the top court.

She argued that Hungarians have the right to know how their money is spent. Legislation already ensures that the most sensitive details for security policy are kept hidden. The law on classification poses a “huge corruption risk” and experts estimate that such a project would enable up to 500 billion forints to be stolen, she added.

Source www.hungarymatters.hu

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