Concerns about fundamental rights

“Foreign interference”: EU takes Hungary to court

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is (once again) facing new trouble from Brussels.

(Bild: APA/AFP/JOHN THYS)

The time has come: the EU Commission is taking Hungary to the European Court of Justice! The case concerns a law with which Viktor Orbán's government wants to prevent "foreign interference". 

The so-called Sovereignty Act violates European law, the Commission declared on Thursday. 

Brussels sees means of restricting freedom of expression
Brussels sees the newly created Hungarian government authority to monitor state "sovereignty" as a means of restricting freedom of expression and other fundamental European rights in Hungary.

Proceedings already initiated in February
The Commission had already initiated proceedings against Hungary in February. According to the Commission, the "Law on the Protection of Sovereignty" and the authority set up at the end of January restrict, among other things, "the right to the protection of personal data, freedom of expression and information, freedom of association and the right to vote of EU citizens", Brussels was told at the time.

The authority, which is enshrined in the Hungarian constitution, has the task of "identifying and investigating organizations that receive funding from abroad and aim to influence the will of voters". 

Several independent Hungarian media outlets had already issued a joint statement after the law was passed protesting against possible restrictions on press freedom by the new authority.