Hungary’s government justifies the law against foreign influence with the “protection of national sovereignty”. Critics see it as an attempt to restrict freedom of expression. The EU Commission has now announced a lawsuit.
The EU Commission wants to take Hungary to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) over a law against foreign influence. The so-called sovereignty law violates European law, the commission said. She accuses Hungary of using a newly created government agency to restrict freedom of expression and other fundamental rights. According to its own information, the commission has requested an expedited legal procedure.
The announcement of the lawsuit comes almost a week before a planned appearance by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in the European Parliament. He is scheduled to answer questions from MPs next Wednesday about his country’s Council Presidency this semester. Parliamentarians expect tough debates.
Authority with broad powers
The conflict between the Commission in Brussels and the right-wing nationalist Orban is not new. In mid-December 2023, the Hungarian National Assembly passed the “Sovereignty Law”. This also meant that a new “Office for the Protection of Sovereignty” was established.
The task of the newly created authority is to “identify and investigate organizations that receive funding from abroad and aim to influence the will of voters.” The office has broad discretion for investigations and can also intervene in the work of other authorities.
The existing ban on party financing from abroad has been extended to include clubs and other organizations. Prime Minister Orban has long accused the EU and US organizations of distributing “billions of euros” to the opposition.
Amnesty International and other organizations accuse the Hungarian government of wanting to “silence critical voices.” According to them, journalists, companies, unions, churches and municipalities are equally targeted.
Hungary’s Prime Minister is sticking to the course
In response, the EU Commission initiated so-called infringement proceedings in February of this year and asked the government in Budapest for a statement. “The creation of a new authority with extensive powers and a strict monitoring and sanctions regime risks causing serious damage to democracy in Hungary,” a Commission spokeswoman said at the time.
Hungary had two months to respond to the allegations. But as the EU Commission announced today, the government in Budapest has still not changed the legal situation in accordance with the complaints. Now we should go to the European Court of Justice for violating the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.
EU gave 2023 Billions of dollars free
It is not the first time that the EU Commission, which is responsible for compliance with EU law, has initiated proceedings against the country due to concerns about the state of the rule of law. In December 2023, however, the authority in Brussels also released ten billion euros in frozen funds for Hungary on the grounds that the Hungarian head of government had implemented the necessary reforms.
Orban has ruled Hungary uninterruptedly since 2010 and, according to EU partners, has since then increasingly restricted press freedom and fundamental rights.
With information from Matthias Reiche, ARD Brussels