Hungary defied international concern and adopted Friday central bank reforms and other controversial measures that threaten to leave the country isolated just as its economy needs a bailout."Nobody can interfere with Hungarian legislative work, there is no one in the world who might tell the elected deputies of the Hungarian people which act to pass and which not to," Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on public radio ahead of the parliamentary session.
The raft of changes to many laws has triggered criticism at home and abroad about the threat to democracy in the former communist EU state where Orban's centre-right Fidesz holds an overwhelming majority in parliament.
Its grip on the legislature has allowed the party to push through reforms of media, judiciary and electoral laws, as well as the appointment of Fidesz loyalists to key posts and a new constitution which takes effect on Sunday.
Critics say the central bank measure -- which prompted the EU and IMF to walk out of talks this month on a possible bailout for Hungary worth 15-20 billion euros ($20-25 billion) -- will increase government influence over monetary policy.
News of the vote sent the florint tumbling to near historic lows against the euro, hitting more than 315 forint to the euro.
The European Commission, whose head Jose Manuel Barroso had called on Hungary to hold off from adopting the legislation until it is brought into line with EU law, reacted cautiously.
"We will be assessing the legal scope of the new laws," a spokesman for the EU's executive arm told AFP.
"We have reiterated our concerns to the Hungarian authorities in the past few days. Of course the Commission remains open to help Hungary in fully implementing EU law."
Hungary's lawmakers overwhelmingly approved the bill which adds more political appointees to the central bank's monetary-policy setting committee and could see the bank disappear as a separate institution altogether.
Parliament also adopted a law, to be enshrined in the constitution, which holds the opposition Socialists accountable for crimes committed by the former ruling communist party, branding it and its successors "criminal organisations".
Lawmakers also adopted new rules that will allow parliament to approve laws in as little as a day and without substantive debate.
They also passed a law on religion that radically lowers the number of state-supported faiths to 14 from more than 300.
Religions to receive official recognition include the Catholic, Reformed, Evangelical and Orthodox Churches as well as Judaism.
Those excluded, such as all Islamic, Buddhist and Hindu congregations, will be able to apply for recognition if they have been operating for at least 20 years in Hungary.
US State Secretary Hillary Clinton has repeatedly expressed her concern over the state of democracy in Hungary and in a letter to Orban published by local news site nol.hu on Friday she said Washington was "deeply concerned" over the law on religion.
Guy Verhofstadt, a former Belgian premier and currently the head of the Liberals in the European Parliament, called the new constitution a "Trojan horse for a more authoritarian political system in Hungary based on the perpetuation of one-party rule".
Hungary can ill-afford to anger its international partners, which already bailed it out in 2008 to the tune of 20 billion euros.
In a major policy U-turn, Orban turned to the IMF and EU for help in November after Hungary had difficulties borrowing on the bond markets and its currency fell drastically.
However, the lenders walked out on preliminary talks on December 16 over the central bank reforms.
The bank itself has criticised the law as increasing government influence over monetary policy and said it "endangers the stability of the Hungarian economy, therefore seriously damages the interests of our country."
Orban said on Friday that talks with the IMF were set to kick off at the beginning of January, although the EU and the IMF have yet to confirm the resumption of negotiations.
He described the negotiations as "important but not essential".
Orban's government has embarked on a number of measures which have rankled investors and international partners, including windfall taxes on the banking, energy, telecommunication and retail sectors where foreign companies dominate.
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