A bill on the declassification of the archives of the communist secret services has been tabled in the Hungarian Parliament, the country’s Prime Minister, Péter Magyar, announced on 24 June.
“We have tabled a bill in parliament to open the archives of the secret police from the communist era. We made this promise and we will fulfil it. In doing so, we are finally honouring a long-overdue debt to the Hungarian people,” the head of government wrote on social media.
The bill provides for the establishment of an independent commission comprising current intelligence service personnel, historians and archivists, according to Bloomberg. This commission will determine which documents should remain classified for the time being.
The criteria for maintaining secrecy will be tightened. Previously, documents remained classified if their publication could harm Hungary’s foreign relations. Now, this will only apply to relations with countries in the European Union, the European Economic Area or NATO.
Parliament is almost certain to pass the bill, as the Fidesz party holds a constitutional majority, notes Bloomberg. The documents are due to be made available by 23 October – the 70th anniversary of the 1956 uprising.
Unlike most countries in the Soviet bloc, Hungary did not publish the archives of informants following the transition to democracy. Historians had access to parts of the archives, and citizens could find out whether they had been under surveillance, but this information was not available to the general public.
In late April 2026, almost immediately after his election victory, Magyar promised that the new government would open up access to the archives of the secret services that had carried out domestic intelligence operations during the communist era.