The cabinet discussed on Wednesday the full disclosure of the regime's secret service activities, the Historical Archives of the State Security Services, and decided to submit a bill to fulfil promises unmet since the 1990 regime change.

She said recruitment dossiers would be published continuously, with a deadline of Dec 31.

The government spokesperson said "the symbolic date also highlights that freedom to understand the past is part of the legacy of the revolution."

Szondi emphasised that making the files public would not mean unrestricted data disclosure.

The bill, for example, excludes the public release of personal identifiers and protects particularly sensitive data such as health status, pathological addictions, sexual life and orientation.

Data on observed individuals, victims, and third parties must be anonymised wherever justified, she explained.

She added that the bill does not limit the disclosure to agents but precisely defines the roles of all individuals involved.

Govt decree on full disclosure of communist-era's secret service activities published in Hungarian Gazette

A government decree on the full disclosure of the communist-era's secret service activities and on measures related to implementing new regulations concerning the Historical Archives of the State Security Services was published in the Hungarian Gazette late on Thursday.

The decree calls on administrative bodies under government control to hand over all documents in their possession created before April 8, 1990, to the relevant public archives or the Historical Archives of the State Security Services, taking into account the legal provisions governing document management and preservation.

If the classification of a document prevents the transfer, they must initiate the declassification process within 30 days.

The cabinet asked the finance minister to ensure the budgetary resources necessary for implementing the tasks, in cooperation with the minister responsible for social relations and culture, and also asked the latter to review the legislation on public documents, public archives, and the protection of private archival material within the framework of his cultural responsibilities.

The government also asked the governor of the Hungarian National Bank to follow the same procedure for documents created before April 8, 1990, that are in the bank's possession.

Meanwhile, also published in the Gazette late on Thursday is a decree on significantly reducing waiting times in publicly funded outpatient and inpatient care, requiring the health minister to develop a targeted programme for capacity expansion to ensure the reductions by Aug 15, involving the relevant professional organisations and background institutions.

The programme, to be submitted to the government, must define the personnel and material conditions for reducing waiting lists, the extent and method of any necessary capacity expansion, and the budgetary resources required for these measures.

MTI Stock Photo

Source: MTI – Hungary’s national news agency since 1881.

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