(Photo: MTI/Tamás Kovács)

Once again commenting on the EU’s refugee relocation quota plans and Hungary’s upcoming referendum during his weekly press conference yesterday, János Lázár, the minister in charge of the Prime Ministerʼs Office, said that he expects a rise in disputes with the EC in the period ahead “because officials of the Brussels body continually level informal threats against Hungary on account of the referendum,” the website reported. Lázár was reported slamming commission officials for “not applying a fair procedure in the case of those who dare to contradict them,” the website added. 

Keeping the referendum on the agenda, Lázár said that should the October 2 referendum on the EU’s resettlement quota prove valid and successful, the Hungarian government may decide to propose changes to the Hungarian Fundamental Law (constitution), as well as to European legal frameworks.

Lázár emphasized that Hungary could come “under great pressure in the near future,” most probably referring to the relocation of refugees, and therefore noted that “the outcome of the referendum should reflect a clear position,” the government website noted.

Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has already hinted that if Hungarians decide at the upcoming referendum to reject the settlement quota plan, the constitution would be changed; however, no specific details have been published, according to reports today.