A Hungarian parliamentarian from the ruling party has submitted a bill that would exempt the Hungarian Postal Service (Magyar Posta) from the provisions of the freedom of information act.
Fidesz MP Szilárd Németh offered the legislation, according to a report in The Budapest Beacon.
The English-language paper quotes Miklós Ligeti, Director of Legal Affairs for Transparency International Hungary, pointing out that the Hungarian Postal Service provides not only postal services but also provides financial and insurance services.
Granting the Postal Service an exemption would give it a disproportionate and unjustified advantage, Ligeti said, that is not available to “other market players who also manage and operate with public funds are not exempt from providing information in the public interest through freedom of information requests.”
444.hu reported that the bill could be the first attempt to exempt public-sector companies such as the state energy, wine and banking corporations.
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