Thousands of Hungary’s weekends took to the streets over the weekend after the Hungarian government enacted new laws to monitor foreign foreign Findia outlets or no one thought it as a sea as a sea.
The bill is labeled “transparency of public life” and the government says it aims to protect Hungary sovereignty from external intervention. But the activists say that this foreign agent of Russia mimics the law and similarly it will provide the broad powers of the Hungarian government to pressurize the press and significant voices in the civil society.
The protests are the latest cry to help the people of Hungary, who is looking at the European Union to rule in its government.
In the Hungarian Capital Budapest, some protesters put a large flag of the European Union in front of Parliament with the help of the English word.
Hungary’s new “transparency law?”
If the draft bill turns into law, the workers say, the government can control or dissolve the media outlets and NGOs.
In December 2023, Hungary passed a national law on “protecting the sovereign” and established what he called a sovereign protection office (SPO) to investigate organizations that use foreign funds to influence voters.
With the new law, the agency will be responsible for investigating all types of organizations and will be authorized to blacklist those who receive foreign funds without the approval of the former government.
If blacklisted, the organization wants to loose access to donation through the annual 1% income tax contribution scheme of Hungary, potential payment 25 times a fine of thesis, and their owners will be made to declare their assets.
Reports show that the country’s secret services have been authorized to assist the SPO in any investigation.
Hungarian RapPorturore of the European Parliament, Tinke Strike told DW that the objective of the Hungarian transparency bill “All organizations, dissolving all media outlets, punishing all individuals who criticize the government. It is accurate what Russian law does.”
Russia’s foreign agent law was adopted in mid -2022, in which human rights organizations explained as a smearing campaign to discredit legitimate Russian citizen activism.
“The law extends the definition of foreign agent to a point on which almost any or unit, regardless of nationality or place, which is engaged in civil activity or even expresses about Russian policies or conduct of officials, can be named a foreign agent, so as long as the authorities claim that they are subject to ‘foreign influence”, “NGOs” are subject to “NGOs”. Human Rights Watch Said.
Hungary’s “Transparency” Bill “Authority”
Peter Magiyar, Hungary opposition Tissza Party leader and only Hungary politician gave a reliable challenge for Hungary Prime Minister Victor Orban for 14 years on power, so the government accused the government of adopting a Russian style law for workers and journalists through the European Union. Hey said that it was “copying his guru, [Russian President ] Vladimir Putin. ,
A statement signed by 300 international organizations, including the Human Rights Organization Amnesty International, describes the bill as “powerful efforts to maintain power”, aims to “silence all important voices and eliminate the remains of Hungary democracy.”
Non-profit group Transparency International said the new bill was threatened “End Citizen Society” And, if passed, the government will have the right to “persecute” impure “.
It states that the law for the European Union grant and foreign donation is small as € 5 ($ 5.70), and that “unclear language” adopted “the bill” left “for political misuse” left a broad room, threatened a broader attitude of civil society – including independent media, watchdog organizations and organizations engaged in public life. ,
Last year, Georgia adopted a similar law in the house and Brussels amidst a lot of uproar. The move suspects that the country is likely to join the European Union.
But when Georgia is a nation of European Union, a complete member of the Hungary Block.
What can the European Union do to ensure Hungarian alignment with the European Union’s price system?
ZSuzsanna Vegh, a program officer of the United States’s German Marshal Fund, said that the theoretical European Union may proceed with the first Article 7 process launched in 2018.
A treaty member states on the European Union underline a procedure to address severe and persistent violations of European Union values.Article 7This allows for suspension of certain rights including voting rights in the Council of European Union, if a member is determined to be in repeated violations of the fundamental principles of the European Union, the law discovers as a weak rule of democracy and freedom.
In the European Union Council, “The European Union acts a really systematic violation of democracy and governance in Hungary and systematic violation of suspending its voting rights, where the block argues and decides IT policies, velocity.
“But this is still a political decision and it is unlikely.”
Some European parliamentary has advocated that the European Union has forced it to reduce corruption to slash Hungary’s funding that adversely affects the financial interests of the European Union. But experts say that the same method can be effective in encouraging Hungary to stick to the value system of the European Union.
“We urge the European Commission that Victor -Obban government has been written on May 20 in a letter written in a letter to the European Commission to the European Commission on 20 May by suspending the European Union’s values and violating the European Union laws.
Veg said that when something was already cut for Hungary, there was no example of cutting all elements marked for the European Union state.
However, Tona Lavarelshwili, a visiting Fellow with the Wilfred Martens Center in Brussels, said it could be done.
“Yes, the European Union can suspend money to Hungary if its new transparency bills – or any law -law reduces the law of law or threatens the financial interests of the European Union. This power comes from the law of the conditional system of law.”
He said that a law that understands civil society, hence reduces the overall economic interests of the European Union.
What is the next step of the European Union?
The European Union has other options that can resort to this before cutting the intention of assisting economic development in Hungary and thus benefiting the general population.
Back in 2017, it managed to separate Hungary from starting a uniform transparency law by starting a violation process, a multi -level process through which the European Union expressed its displeasure for Hungary. When there was no change in Budapest’s approach, Brussels took Hungary to the European Union (EU) justice court
The court concluded that Hungary “introduced discriminatory and unfair sanctions on foreign donations to civil society organizations”.
Since the new bill was chosen last week, the European Union has avoided scolding Hungary and only waiting to see if it is involved in the law.
Veg believes that another violation process is the next step of the European Union.
But the fact that Hungary is trying to push again through the law, the European Union may need to change its approach and take more star stand.
Edited by: A. Thomas
