Economy
Hungary MPs pass bill restoring free-to-shop Sundays
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Antal Rogán, head of the Cabinet Office of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, announced on Monday that that government planned to rescind legislation banning retail stores - with a few exceptions - from opening on Sundays.
Following an over three-hour debate in Parliament today, MPs passed the motion with 163 ‘yes’, 2 ‘no’ votes and 11 abstentions.
Those who said no were Kristóf Szatmáry, an MP of the ruling Fidesz party, who is a ministerial commissioner responsible for trade policy at the Prime Minister’s Office, and Péter Harrach, head of the caucus of the junior governing party, the Christian Democrats (KDNP).
Those abstaining from the vote were nine MPs of KDNP, István Boldog (Fidesz) and Zsuzsanna Szelényi (independent).
Two ministers of the Christian Democrats, Miklós Seszták and István Simicskó were in favour of the proposal.
János Lázár, minister at the helm of the Prime Minister’s Office, and Zoltán Balog, Minister for Human Capacities, stayed away from the vote, but a statement released by the PM’s Office said their absence from the vote means a ‘no’ from their part, which they chose not to cast, citing their loyalty to the government and PM Orbán
“We believe everyone has the right to have Sunday as a holiday. Therefore we do not support the government’s bill that restricts free Sunday."
Following an over three-hour debate in Parliament today, MPs passed the motion with 163 ‘yes’, 2 ‘no’ votes and 11 abstentions.
Those who said no were Kristóf Szatmáry, an MP of the ruling Fidesz party, who is a ministerial commissioner responsible for trade policy at the Prime Minister’s Office, and Péter Harrach, head of the caucus of the junior governing party, the Christian Democrats (KDNP).
Those abstaining from the vote were nine MPs of KDNP, István Boldog (Fidesz) and Zsuzsanna Szelényi (independent).
Two ministers of the Christian Democrats, Miklós Seszták and István Simicskó were in favour of the proposal.
János Lázár, minister at the helm of the Prime Minister’s Office, and Zoltán Balog, Minister for Human Capacities, stayed away from the vote, but a statement released by the PM’s Office said their absence from the vote means a ‘no’ from their part, which they chose not to cast, citing their loyalty to the government and PM Orbán
“We believe everyone has the right to have Sunday as a holiday. Therefore we do not support the government’s bill that restricts free Sunday."
