The European Commission has launched an infringement procedure against Hungary over the Sovereignty Protection Law, according to a communication released by the EU executive body on 7 February. The text of the statement reads as follows:
‘The Commission considers that the Hungarian legislation at stake violates several provisions of primary and secondary EU law, among others the democratic values of the Union; the principle of democracy and the electoral rights of EU citizens; several fundamental rights enshrined in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, such as the right to respect for private and family life, the right to protection of personal data, the freedom of expression and information, the freedom of association, the electoral rights of EU citizens, the right to an effective remedy and to a fair trial, the privilege against self-incrimination and the legal professional privilege; the requirements of EU law relating to data protection and several rules applicable to the internal market.’
The Hungarian government has two months to reply to the letter of formal notice, and if the reply is not deemed acceptable, the procedure will be taken to the next stage.
Ultimately, the European Court of Justice may rule on the dispute.
The Hungarian Parliament voted on the bill on the protection of national sovereignty on 12 December 2023. Under this bill, the Office for the Protection of Sovereignty was established and commenced working on 1 February. The Office’s mission is to raise awareness among Hungarian society and policymakers of foreign attempts to influence Hungarian politics. To this end, it may conduct studies under its own power or in cooperation with other state bodies and will make the results of these studies public. It may also make proposals to the legislator for the protection of Hungarian sovereignty.
The Prime Minister’s political director Balázs Orbán reacted to the news on the social media platform X. ‘True,’ he wrote, attaching a picture of the word ‘law’ crossed out from The Guardian’s headline on Hungary. Hence, the text reads: ‘EU to take action against Hungary’s sovereignty’—a perfect description of the unending battle between Brussels and Hungary.
President Katalin Novák appointed political scientist Tamás Lánczi to head the office on Viktor Orbán’s proposal. In an interview with Magyar Nemzet, Lánczi explained that the office itself does not conduct investigations, as it is not a secret service, police, or prosecutor’s office. However, it can cooperate with the aforementioned state bodies, request information from them, which the office can analyze, and will publish these analyses from time to time. It can also make proposals to decision-makers if it believes that legislation is needed to protect Hungarian sovereignty.
In an interview with Mandiner, Tamás Lánczi underlined that no law-abiding, honest person in Hungary has any reason to fear, but
that every Hungarian has the right to be aware of the financial background of media outlets in the spirit of transparency.
According to the law, the results of any such investigations must first be sent to the company concerned, ie the company under investigation, for its opinion. Tamás Lánczi said that the campaign period leading up to the forthcoming EP elections would be particularly watched.
The Sovereignty Protection Act was deemed necessary because during the campaign period leading up to the 2022 parliamentary elections, opposition parties and media organizations received significant funding from foreign organizations in order to defeat the ruling parties. ‘Is it possible to sell the country for money with impunity? We must resolve this, and we expect our parliamentarians to draw up rules to protect Hungary’s sovereignty, right up to the constitution,’ Viktor Orbán said in November 2023 in front of the Fidesz congress. The Hungarian PM emphasized that they cannot ignore the proven fact that foreign states, organizations, and even Brussels itself provided financial support to the opposition forces to help defeat Fidesz-KDNP during the 2022 elections.
The law has faced significant criticism from the left since its adoption. In its article, the ‘independent fact-checking portal’ Lakmusz compared the Hungarian law to the Russian Foreign Agents Act. The US State Department, among others, has strongly criticized the law, and Ambassador David Pressman has called it ‘destructive to democracy’, stating that the controversial law is unlike any other law he knows of ‘in any democracy, let alone in another EU or NATO member state.’
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