In Brussels on Tuesday the agreement on the Unified Patent Court (UPC) was signed; thus a process on creation of a unified European patent system which has spanned five decades has come to fruition – at present with the participation of twenty-five EU Member States.
As a result of the dialogue conducted with the EU and the Council of Europe, the rules relating to the conditions of the appointment and election of the President of the National Media and Infocommunications Authority (Authority) and the Media Council, respectively, the nomination procedure, the person making the appointment and repeated appointment will change.
Since the Government entered office, the most intensive anti-corruption series of measures over the last 20 years has been introduced in Hungary. As the latest step in this process, the Government has included within an action plan its commitments to acts within the international framework of the Open Government Partnership. It has also laid down regulations on the system to prevent corruption in the public sphere and for a reception enforcing interests.
A task force for nationality affairs was set up on Thursday in Budapest at the Government’s initiative with the involvement of civil organisatios. The task force will assist the Government in the future with legislative proposals and policy advice and will also help the Government to draft its national minority policy concept.
The adoption by Parliament on Monday of the new Civil Code is seen by the Minister of State for Justice to be of historic significance.
The initiative Re-Button It! is turning international; the clothing design competition organised for the third time invites designers from the countries of the Visegrád Four (V4) to participate. Competitors may find inspiration for their designs in Central-Europe’s cultural values and traditions. Results of the Re-Button It! Central-Europe competition will be announced on 8 June in Budapest as part of the Central European Fashion Days.
The European Court of Human Rights set a legal precedent in its decision reached in the case related to private pension funds. The Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights has recently released its decision in which it declared a Hungarian individual’s petition filed in relation to the reform of the Hungarian private pension system inadmissible. The European Court of Human Rights will in the future reject all petitions on the same subject-matter without further investigation.
The Hungarian Government is committed to ensuring that no one in Hungary should sustain any disadvantage on account of their origin, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Public Administration and Justice Tibor Navracsics reiterated in Washington to Senator Ben Cardin, Co-Chairman of the US Helsinki Commission. The Minister gave an account of the meetings he held during his three-day visit to Washington on Wednesday.
Fidesz poses no threat to democracy, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Public Administration and Justice said in response to foreign criticisms levelled against the Hungarian Government at a meeting with Hungarians living in the vicinity of Washington held at the Hungarian Embassy in the US capital Wednesday evening, local time.
The Council of Europe has approved the Government’s proposal for the settlement of the outstanding issues related to the media authority and the media council. As a result, drafting of the proposed amendment of the Media Law may now begin.