Hungary readies response on controversial laws

(BUDAPEST) - Hungary's response to a series of legal challenges from the EU Commission to a raft of controversial laws passed late last year will be sent by Friday, Prime Minster Viktor Orban said in a radio interview.

"The letter of response from the Hungarian government has been prepared ... the document will be sent Friday," Orban told MR1 radio station on Thursday.

Hungary's conservative government, led by Orban, has come under international criticism over new laws, including some dealing with freedom of the press, seen as a possible slide towards authoritarianism.

The EU executive launched legal proceedings on January 17 against reforms affecting the independence of the central bank, the retirement age of judges and the independence of the data protection authority.

In the move, the European Union gave Orban one month, instead of the legally mandated two, to modify the reforms which caused a furor in Brussels and impeded talks over a 20-billion-euro (25-billion-dollars) credit from the International Monetary Fund and the EU.

Orban noted that the government might make some slight modifications before sending their response, but that he expected talks with Brussels to be "relatively simple".

"After Brussels receives our response, if there are no great differences in opinion, the cabinet will propose its amendments to (Hungary's) parliament immediately," Orban said.

The European Parliament on Thursday decided to launch its own evaluation of the controversial laws to decide whether they endanger European values.

The Parliament's committee on civil liberties, justice and home affairs was tasked with the inquest.

On Monday, members of the parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe, a body that monitors basic rights on the continent, said they will go to Hungary to probe controversial laws.