BUDAPEST: Hungary's parliament on Monday began passing reforms to fight corruption and try to appease Brussels' concerns about its rule-of-law record and unlock billions of euros in EU funds.
The first two legal changes were adopted by large majorities in parliament, firmly controlled by the party of nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban, according to the results of the votes, published on the parliament's website.
Orban's government is expected to pass 17 key changes, aimed at monitoring the use of EU funds closely and making the legislative process more transparent.
The first amendment adopted Monday will allow people to file a complaint in court to seek to open corruption investigations.
The second text aims to strengthen the transparency of the legislative process by making a public consultation mandatory before the adoption of a law, which is not a common practice currently.
An "independent authority" will also be created to better control the use of EU funds -- a measure which is expected to be passed by parliament on Tuesday, together with other reforms.
The measures are aimed at unlocking billions of euros in blocked EU funds as the country confronts an economic downturn, though activists have charged that they don't go far enough to address deeply entrenched corruption.
The European Union's executive arm proposed last month to suspend 7.5 billion euros ($7.3 billion) in financing for Hungary.
The proposed suspension is over concerns that Orban, who has ruled Hungary since 2010, is undercutting the rule of law and using EU money to enrich cronies.
Also last month, the European Parliament declared that Hungary was no longer a "full democracy" -- a symbolic vote that infuriated Budapest.
Hungary is also the only country still waiting for the green light from Brussels on its post-Covid recovery plan with 5.8 billion euros pending over corruption concerns.
Like the rest of Europe, Hungary's economy has been hard hit by ripple effects from the Ukraine war, with a weakening currency and fast-rising inflation.
The central European nation of 10 million people depends heavily on EU funds, according to experts.