Hungary’s parliament has passed a package of laws to restrict foreign influence on Tuesday, but critics fear they could be used to stifle dissent against Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government, Euractiv reports.
According to parliament’s website, the package of laws on the “defence of national sovereignty” was passed by an overwhelming majority in parliament, which is dominated by Orbán’s Fidesz party. The laws will come into force on February 1 next year.
The newly adopted laws will criminalise foreign funding of election campaigns and establish a new Sovereignty Protection Office with wide investigative powers. The prime minister will appoint the head of the office with the authority to “identify and investigate organisations that receive funding from abroad… aimed at influencing the will of voters.”
The new agency will not be able to sanction NGOs, but will pass information to the authorities. It would also publish an annual “sovereignty report” and provide recommendations.
Any candidate running for election who receives foreign funding could face up to three years in prison. The ruling Fidesz party claims the legislative changes will “close a loophole” for “electoral cheating,” which has drawn criticism both at home and abroad.
In November, the European Council urged Hungary to abandon the bill, which “poses a significant risk to human rights.”
Prominent human rights organisations, including Amnesty International in Hungary, stated that the package of laws “serves to protect the arbitrary exercise of power.” They fear the new government could target human rights groups, journalists, companies, churches, trade unions and municipalities, which have no recourse against any investigation or procedure against them.
American Ambassador to Budapest David Pressman claimed that compared to this law, Russia’s “foreign agent” law appeared “mild and meek.”
When the government proposes to create a new domestic security agency, armed with unfettered and unchecked investigative powers… it is alarming.
Parliament also voted Tuesday night to overhaul Budapest’s electoral rules, which critics believe is designed to give Fidesz a foothold in the capital held by the opposition since 2019. Tuesday’s reforms will now include electing Budapest councillors by proportional representation, favouring strong parties at the expense of the highly fractured opposition.
Budapest’s liberal mayor Gergely Karácsony denounced the change as a “manipulation of electoral rules” barely months before municipal elections.
Hungary is a member of the European Union, but Orbán has often clashed with other members not only on migration, but also on issues like media and judicial independence and LGBTQ rights.
The ruling parties already passed a similar law in 2017 targeting foreign-funded NGOs, but were forced to repeal it after the EU official notification.
