Hungary constitution vote triggers anger

(Vatican Radio) Hungary's government allies have passed changes to the constitution despite warnings they will turn the country into a dictatorship and threaten religious freedom. Monday's vote triggered angry reactions from the European Union and Hungarian activists.
Black flags hung from some windows of the Hungarian parliament building where the opposition said it was mourning the end of democracy.
On Monday, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's allies voted for a controversial lengthy amendment to the constitution.
The bill limits the powers of the Constitutional Court, one of the last institutions that could oppose the government.
It also enshrines policies that were previously struck down by the country's top court, increasing government influence over key institutions such as the media, judiciary, central bank and even churches in this heavily Catholic nation of some 10 million people.
Monday's vote triggered an angry statement from the Council of Europe and the EU. Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso wrote that the amendment "raise concerns with respect to the principle of the rule of law, EU law, and Council of Europe standards."
European Commission spokesperson Pia Ahrenkilde Hansen does not rule out sanctions against Hungary. "Our job is to make sure that EU law that member states have themselves signed up to is complied with," she said. "Ofcourse we have legal instruments at our disposal to make sure that is the case. I am notably referring to our infringement proceedings."
Orbán dismisses the international criticism saying it has been fueled by "multinational big businesses", including energy firms, who have been forced by the state to cut prices and to pay "crisis taxes".
On Monday the prime minister condemned a court ruling in a dispute over fees which favored private utility companies over the state energy office.
The 49-year-old Orbán, who faces elections next year, told parliament that his government "does not accept the situation"
A visibly angry prime minister shouted: "We will fight and make new proposals ... and utility rates will be cut even further and the companies will earn even less."
Though Hungary received 97 percent of its development aid from the EU, Orbán says he does not accept "foreign interference" from people in "finely tailored suits" to write Hungary's constitution, or 'Fundamental Law' as it is known here.
Several thousand Hungarians demonstrated late Monday in front of the presidential palace, urging the head-of-state, János Áder, not to sign the controversial constitutional amendment. Listen to this report by Stefan Bos