Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s Fidesz party has introduced a bill in parliament to blacklist organisations receiving foreign funding if they are deemed a “threat” to national sovereignty. Critics say it is another step to stifle dissent ahead of the country’s elections.
The bill aims to monitor, restrict and possibly ban organisations which, according to the controversial Sovereignty Protection Office (SPO), endanger “Hungary’s sovereignty by carrying out activities aimed at influencing public life with foreign support”. The document is being compared to Russia’s “foreign agents” law, which is used to suppress civil society.
Parliament, where Fidesz has an overwhelming majority, is expected to vote in favour of the bill in the coming days.
The move by the ruling party follows Orban’s pledge in March to crack down on politicians and journalists who receive foreign funding. It is seen as part of a wider campaign against civil society, which has approved more than a dozen legislative changes against dissent, free speech and education in recent years.
The new law, if approved, gives SPOs the right to create a list of foreign-funded legal entities if their activities are deemed a threat that could “undermine Hungary’s independent, democratic and rule-of-law-based order” or violate Hungary’s constitutional identity or Christian culture.
Such offences include challenging the traditions of marriage, family or gender.
Last month, Hungary passed a constitutional amendment that officially bans public displays of homosexuality and gender diversity and gives police the power to use facial recognition technology.