Hungary's proposed amendment sparks debate on marriage and cash rights

• Constitutional amendment: The proposal aims to strengthen the traditional model of marriage as a union between a man and a woman and to define the family as the foundation of the nation's survival.
• Cash protection: The new rules introduce a constitutionally protected right to receive payment in cash.
• State of emergency: The government gains the ability to declare and extend a state of emergency without parliament's approval, which is controversial.

On Tuesday evening, representatives of Hungary's ruling party, Fidesz, submitted the final amendment proposal to the constitution to parliament. The proposal focuses on ideological and conceptual issues. It includes the following provision: "Hungary shall protect the institution of marriage as the union of one man and one woman established by voluntary decision, and the family as the basis of the survival of the nation."

Furthermore, Fidesz representatives affirmed that marriage and the parent-child relationship are the basis of family relations. In this context, the amendment also includes a statement previously announced by Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban, constituting that a person can only be called a man or a woman. Simultaneously, the fundamental law will include the statement that "the mother shall be a woman, the father shall be a man."

The Hungarian constitution will also include provisions stating that "Every child shall have the right to maintain on a regular basis a personal relationship and direct contact with both his or her parents, unless that is contrary to his or her interests.." The amendment also obliges the state to protect children's right to self-identify according to their gender and ensure their upbringing by values rooted in the country's constitutional identity and Christian culture.

The amendment also introduces the right to receive payment in cash, bans the production, use, distribution, and promotion of drugs, and grants authorities the practical ability to suspend the citizenship of individuals who are citizens of another country.

The proposed amendment allows the government to declare and extend a state of emergency without parliament's approval. The opposition criticizes this provision, fearing it may lead to abuses of power. The current state of emergency has already lasted three years, and the new rules could enable its further extension.

The amendment to Hungary's constitution, which came into force in 2012, requires a constitutional majority in parliament but does not need to be approved in a nationwide referendum. This is already the fifteenth amendment introduced by the ruling Fidesz-KDNP coalition.