The European Commission is suing Hungary over its so-called Sovereignty Protection Act, a bill that was passed last December to defend the country against undue political interference from foreign entities.
Brussels had already launched an infringement procedure in February, claiming the law violates several European Union rules and principles, but Hungary has cited foreign interference in the 2022 Hungarian election campaign as the main reason for introducing the law.
In its response to Brussels’ infringement procedure, Hungary argued that the law does not violate EU law and that the concerns raised are unfounded. However, the Commission said in a statement on Thursday, October 3rd that “after carefully assessing the reply of the Hungarian authorities, the Commission maintains that most of the grievances identified have still not been addressed.” A ruling by the European Court of Justice is expected in the coming years.
András László, a Member of the European Parliament for the ruling conservative Hungarian Fidesz party reacted by tweeting: “The national law on the Defence of Sovereignty was not adopted for fun. It was a response to the valid outrage of Hungarians when they learned about the illegal foreign funding.”
The left-wing opposition’s 2022 election campaign was massively funded from overseas, mainly through a U.S. non-profit organisation. Under the bill passed last year, an office was created to investigate disinformation campaigns and activities that seek to influence election outcomes. Banned foreign financing can be punished with a prison sentence.
While opponents have compared the act to Russia’s foreign agent law, government critics rarely mention that the United States has a similar law, called the Foreign Agents Registration Act, and the European Commission also launched its so-called ‘Defence of Democracy’ package last year to force groups to disclose their finances to spot foreign political influence.
In February, the EU claimed the Hungarian law violates the freedom of expression, the freedom of association, the electoral rights of citizens, as well as the ‘democratic values’ of the EU. Leftist NGOs have falsely claimed that it could be used to silence opposition voices.
EU-candidate Georgia has also been harshly criticised by the EU for its own foreign interference law, which requires NGOs and media outlets receiving more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as “pursuing the interests of a foreign power,” and to provide more detailed reports on their finances and activities, with fines for those who do not obey.
It doesn’t seem to bother the European Commission one bit that its own proposed ‘Defence of Democracy’ package works along the same lines as the Hungarian and Georgian laws. It would oblige groups working for non-EU foreign countries to sign up to a transparency register, and publicly state how much they receive, which countries they are supported by, and what their main goals are.
Hungary and Georgia both have governments that espouse Christian-conservative values, are opposed to migration and gender ideology, and pursue their own national sovereign interests. This has angered the Brussels liberal elite which is punishing and threatening these countries under the pretext of the ‘rule of law.’
The EU recently imposed a hefty fine on Hungary for protecting the EU’s external borders. In an interview for the Kossuth Rádió on Friday, October 4th, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán reiterated his government’s promise that if the EU continues to punish Hungary for its border protection, “we will bus the migrants to Brussels’ main square, legally and without objection.”
Hungary’s sovereigntist stance is evidently annoying the left-liberal government of Germany as well. The country’s ambassador to Budapest, Julia Gross, said in a speech marking German Unity Day on Wednesday, that “Hungary is on a path that is leading it away from its friends.”
She said a range of actions had undermined Hungary’s trustworthiness, criticising Viktor Orbán’s peace mission to Moscow and Hungary’s delaying of the ratification of Finland and Sweden’s NATO accession. She also addressed Hungarian voters, asking them whether the actions of the Hungarian government serve their interests.
Hungary’s Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó summoned the German ambassador on Thursday, saying the comments were “completely unacceptable,” and that she had “seriously intervened in Hungary’s domestic matters in a way that infringes on Hungary’s sovereignty.” He added that “we always expect respect from ambassadors serving in our country.”
