The Hungarian National Assembly [official website] on Tuesday rejected a constitutional amendment proposed by Prime Minister Viktor Orban [official website, in Hungarian] to block the settlement of new refugees in Hungary. Orban’s ruling Fidesz party [official website] failed to attract [BBC report] the two opposition votes necessary for a two-thirds majority vote in parliament. The bill sought to refuse an EU-set quota scheme that would relocate 1,294 refugees in Hungary. In October a low voter turnout invalidated [JURIST report] Hungary’s referendum in which Hungarian citizens voted to oppose any EU mandatory placement of refugees, however, had the constitutional amendment passed, it would have blocked any future attempts by the EU to impose refugee quotas on Hungary.

In November the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) urged [JURIST report] the EU to better address Hungary’s “sustained attack” on human rights and democracy since Prime Minister Viktor Orbán took office in 2010. Upon the beginning of Orbán’s term, Hungary adopted a new constitution called the Fundamental Law [text, PDF], which has since been criticized for neglecting international human rights standards and fast-tracking political procedures in a manner that jeopardizes the country’s separation of powers. The FIDH’s accusations echo similar statements [JURIST report] made by Human Rights Watch (HRW) in 2015 against the EU for refusing to take action to address Hungary’s laws and practices regarding human rights. In 2013 the Hungarian government enacted constitutional amendments [JURIST report] after receiving criticism over its 2012 amendments. HRW and other human rights groups criticized [JURIST report] the changes as “largely cosmetic,” highlighting a lack of resolve over issues surrounding weakened human rights protections in the country.