CoE Secretary-General congratulates Orban on election win

Council of Europe Secretary-General Thorbjorn Jagland has congratulated Prime Minister Viktor Orban on his election win, the PM's press chief said. Jagland praised Hungary's role in the work of the CoE, noting that Hungary hosts the European Youth Centre in Budapest. He expressed hope that Hungary and the CoE would continue their cooperation "in these challenging times for Europe". Meanwhile, The human rights committee of the Council of Europe has asked the Venice Commission to scrutinise Hungary's "Stop Soros" bill. The Commission was asked on March 22 to assess the draft law in light of international human right norms. The law would hand Hungary's interior minister the authority to ban "pro-migration" civil groups if they posed a risk to national security. The Commission's report, prepared in cooperation with the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, is expected to be completed late in June. The "Stop Soros" laws will be on the agenda of the new Hungarian parliament's first session on May 7.