Parliament approved on Tuesday legislation to raise the salaries of top officials of the National Bank (NBH) and to classify data concerning its companies and foundations. The bill, submitted by Erik Bánki, an MP of governing Fidesz, just a day before, will raise the monthly salary of the NBH’s governor to a fixed 5 million forints, as opposed to the current 2.5 million forints. Deputy governors will make 90 percent of the governor’s salary, while policy-making Monetary Council members will earn 60 percent. Under the new law, the central bank will have the right not to disclose information to the public on its companies “if defending the interests of its policy outweighs that of the public’s right to information on publicly-funded institutions”. The law also allows the assets of central bank foundations to be removed from public scrutiny. Attila Péterfalvi, the head of the National Data Protection Office, said on Monday that some passages of the legislation were in conflict with a constitutional stipulation that “data relating to public funds and national assets shall be data of public interest”. He noted that a provision under which information could be classified with retroactive effect would go against the principle of legal certainty. Péterfalvi said the legislation would overturn an existing, non-appealable court ruling. The opposition Socialists earlier sued the NBH for failing to comply with a public information request regarding a foundation it established and won the case. The opposition Együtt (Together) party called on President János Áder not to sign the amendment, which the party said was an “openly unconstitutional” legislation designed as a cover for the National Bank’s “looting public funds”. Együtt demanded that Áder send the law back to Parliament. The central bank’s profits are public funds and voters should know what those funds are spent on, the party said.
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