Today, the European Commission decided to refer Hungary (INFR(2024)2001) to the Court of Justice because it considers its national law on the ‘Defence of Sovereignty’ to be in breach of EU law. This national law establishes an ‘Office for the Defence of Sovereignty’, tasked with investigating specific activities said to be carried out in the interest of another State or a foreign body, organisation or natural person, allegedly liable to violate or jeopardise the sovereignty of Hungary; and organisations whose activities using foreign funding allegedly influence the outcome of elections or the will of voters.
In February 2024, the Commission sent a letter of formal notice to Hungary raising its concerns. Finding that the response provided by Hungary to its letter of formal notice was unsatisfactory, in May 2024, the Commission sent a reasoned opinion reiterating the grievances concerning the violation of the fundamental rights enshrined in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, the Internal Market Fundamental Freedoms, and EU Data protection legislation. In response to this reasoned opinion, Hungary claimed that the Law on the Defence of Sovereignty does not infringe EU Law and that the concerns raised were unfounded.
After carefully assessing the reply of the Hungarian authorities, the Commission maintains most of the grievances identified, which have still not been addressed. Those grievances concern several fundamental rights enshrined in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights: the right to respect for private and family life, the freedom of expression and information, the freedom of association, the right to legal professional privilege, as well as the presumption of innocence, which implies the right not to incriminate oneself. The Commission also considers that the law violates several fundamental freedoms of the internal market, the e-Commerce Directive, the Services Directive, as well as EU Data protection legislation.
Background
On 12 December 2023 the Hungarian National Assembly adopted the Defence of Sovereignty Law empowering a new Office to carry out investigations including relating to ‘any activity that is foreign-funded and that may influence the outcome of elections, the will of voters or supports such activities’. According to its Preamble, the Law has been adopted in response to increasing unlawful attacks against the sovereignty of Hungary by foreign organisations and individuals seeking to assert their own interests in Hungary in opposition to Hungarian interests and rules. The law entrusts the Office with a very broad discretion concerning investigations, notably on access to information, empowering the Office to intervene in an intrusive manner in investigations. The law requires extensive publicity about the individual investigations and their findings. This will have negative consequences for the concerned entities including a stigmatising effect. This is further aggravated by the fact that the Office will send an annual public report to the parliamentary standing committee on national security and the Government for their response on how they will address its findings.
The broad powers and discretion of the Office will affect a wide range of persons and entities, including civil society organisations, media outlets and journalists in a disproportionate manner.
More information
- Infringements database
- EU infringements procedure
- October 2024 infringement cycle
- Infringement decision Hungary (INFR(2024)2001)
Source – EU Commission
Hungarian Prime Minister Orbán: We will deliver the migrants knocking on Hungary’s gate to Brussels’ main square
Budapest, September 30, 2024
The government will use all available means of the Hungarian state without hesitation to protect Hungary’s sovereignty and independence, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán declared on Monday in Parliament during his pre-agenda speech.
“We will defend Hungary against any sanctions that threaten the interests, security, well-being, and health of the Hungarian people,” the Prime Minister added. He stated that the government of Hungary is a national government and, therefore, necessarily a sovereigntist one. “International cooperation is important and commendable, but we know that, in reality, we can only rely on ourselves,” said Orbán. He added, “Trouble has always come to Hungary from the international arena, and the solution has always been national resistance, national unity, and national governance.” He noted that in some European countries, such as Germany, the opposite has happened, which is why they are distrustful and sometimes hostile toward sovereign governments, “seeking to limit the sovereignty of national governments, either openly or covertly.”
“If Brussels insists on its decision to punish Hungary over migration, then it will get what it wants, and we will deliver the migrants knocking on Hungary’s gate to the main square of Brussels,” the Prime Minister declared in Parliament. Orbán Viktor recalled that migration had sparked intense debates across Europe during the summer. Germany closed its borders, France’s new prime minister announced that they would restore order at their borders, the Netherlands announced the toughest anti-migration laws ever, and the governments of Sweden and Finland are also discussing anti-migration laws, he said, adding that the era of free travel is coming to an end. The Prime Minister continued: all they had to do was follow Hungary’s advice, follow Hungary’s example, and not allow the migrants in from the very beginning. He stated that Hungary will be proven right about the war as well, just as it was about migration. “There is no solution to the war on the battlefield, only death, suffering, and destruction. We need a ceasefire, negotiations, and peace,” he emphasized.
The new economic policy demands new tools, and the measures of the first action plan will be included in next year’s budget, which will soon be submitted to Parliament, the Prime Minister said. Viktor Orbán mentioned as part of the action plan a work loan similar to student loans, capital grants for small and medium-sized entrepreneurs, the permanent establishment of the 13th-month pension, and the doubling of the tax benefits for children. These will be the first steps of the new economic policy, which will boost economic growth, he said.
The Prime Minister said, “We do not need some reform package reminiscent of socialist times or a big leap forward, but rather successive and interconnected industrial policy, enterprise development, and financial action plans.” He stated that Hungary already belongs to the top half of the European Union in terms of economic growth rates, but this will not be enough next year. Hungary’s economic growth rate must be raised to a range between 3 and 6 percent, “even if no one else in Europe succeeds. If necessary, we must do it alone, and I am convinced that Hungary can do it,” he said.
Over the course of a decade, Hungary and the Hungarian state have grown stronger, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán declared in connection with the flood that occurred along the Danube in September.
Viktor Orbán said that compared to the flood defense in 2013, the Hungarian state has become “more efficient, organized, and prepared.” “We made the right decision when, after the 2013 flood, we supplemented the defense lines,” he stated. He added that the sudden flood in September was the second-largest flood of the century, with defenses in place all along the Danube, from Győr through Dunaszekcső to Mohács. The defense was organized and orderly, and the disaster was averted, he said. The Prime Minister thanked those who participated in the defense efforts. “We saw again that when trouble arises, Hungarians come together exemplarily. We should carry some of that unity into peacetime,” he said.
Hungarian post:
Source – Government Website – kormany.hu – e-translated by ChatGPT 4o