Republican Representatives Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Andy Harris, M.D. (R-MD) strongly criticized the European Commission for its “unprecedented, undemocratic interference in Hungary’s upcoming elections.”
In a letter to Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, Smith and Harris argue that the EU Commission’s anti-democratic actions “raise serious concerns regarding the boundary between legitimate EU oversight and authoritarian political intervention” and are “deeply destructive of public confidence in the fairness of the electoral process and in the neutrality of European institutions.”
The Republican lawmakers specifically cite EU-linked funding to media organizations, advocacy, groups, and non-governmental actors that are critical of the current Hungarian government, as well as the EU’s distortion of the Digital Services Act (DSA), which has been co-opted to restrict, censor, and remove lawful political expression that aligns with Hungary’s existing administration, as evidence of the EU’s unwarranted interference in the country’s elections.
Smith, a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, also emphasized the strength of current U.S.-Hungarian ties, noting that relations between the United States and Hungary are “stronger than ever.”
“The U.S.-Hungarian partnership is a genuine two-way street based on mutual respect for each other’s national traditions. Both countries are learning from one another and deepening cooperation across multiple fronts,” Smith concluded.
