Topic: EU - on January 17, 2012 at 6:06:00 PM CET
EU raises stakes in row with Hungary
The European Union raised the stakes in a showdown with Hungary today, with the European Commission saying it would take legal action against the government over authoritarian new laws.
Prime minister Viktor Orban's conservative Fidesz party has been condemned by the international community for introducing measures that threaten the independence of the media, the judiciary and the central bank since sweeping to power in 2010.
The commision said the laws governing the central bank, the retirement age of judges and the country's data protection authority violated EU rules and needed to be changed within one month if Hungary wanted to avoid being taken to the European Court of Justice, the EU's highest court.
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