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HATC SAMPLE EDITION:
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12th June, 2025
MPs authorise local councils to exclude outsiders
Parliament on Wednesday adopted a bill that gives local governments the power to restrict who can settle in their municipalities.
The bill allows communities to impose conditions on newcomers and act against what it terms "unwanted social developments."
According to the text, municipalities can extend pre-emptive rights, restrict residence registration, impose extra local taxes, and set conditions on property purchases.
An earlier version of the proposal would have allowed bans on real estate purchases by outsiders, but this does not appear in the final version.
Minister of Public Administration and Regional Development Tibor Navracsics, who drafted the bill, said it provides tools, not obligations, for local governments to manage population growth and protect community identity.
He emphasised that the measures must not violate human dignity or discriminate on ethnic or religious grounds.
The bill follows an April amendment to the Fundamental Law, which now states that freedom of movement cannot override a community’s right to preserve its identity.
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán first spoke of a need for “the right of small settlements to self-defence” in February.
Critics, including independent website Átlátszó, suggest the bill may also serve electoral aims by deterring population shifts unfavourable to the ruling party, especially in growing urban areas.
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Sources regularly consulted, with abbreviations used in text: Népszabadság (N); Magyar Hírlap (MH); Világgazdaság (VG); Napi Gazdaság (NG); Magyar Nemzet (MN); Népszava (Nsz); Kossuth Rádió news (KR); nightly TV news (TV).
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