(ANSA-AFP) - BUDAPEST, MAY 13 - Prime Minister Viktor Orban has snubbed an invitation by the European Parliament speaker to debate emergency powers and the rule of law in Hungary, Budpaest's MTI news agency reported Wednesday. David Sassoli invited Orban to speak at the debate in Brussels on Thursday but the nationalist premier said in a letter that Justice Minister Judit Varga will represent Hungary instead. "At present, the fight against the epidemic consumes all my energy and strength," Orban told the speaker, according to MTI. Only heads of state or government can attend such debates, which according to protocol cannot be held remotely, Sassoli had told Orban in Tuesday's invitation letter. Emergency powers granted to Orban by the Hungarian parliament on March 30 enable him to rule by decree without a fixed time limit until his government decides the virus crisis is over. Orban insists the powers are needed to tackle the spread of the pandemic. But many, including some of his allies in the European parliament's conservative EPP grouping, have accused him of a power grab too far. Orban said that he has "no time" for criticism of the Hungarian legislation. (ANSA-AFP). (ANSA).