Hungary targets critics with bill that would blacklist critical media
and NGOs
[May 14, 2025]
By JUSTIN SPIKE
BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — The nationalist party of Hungarian Prime
Minister Viktor Orbán introduced a bill late Tuesday that would allow
the government to monitor, restrict, penalize and potentially ban
organizations it deems a threat to national sovereignty, marking a
significant escalation of the government's long-running crackdown on
critical media and non-governmental organizations.
The bill, submitted by a lawmaker in Orbán's Fidesz party, would expand
the authority of Hungary 's controversial Sovereignty Protection Office,
allowing it to identify organizations that influence public debate or
voter sentiment in ways it considers detrimental to Hungary’s interests.
Under the proposed legislation, such organizations could be placed on a
list by governmental decree, stripped of key funding and subjected to
severe financial penalties if they are found to “endanger the
sovereignty of Hungary by carrying out activities aimed at influencing
public life with foreign support.”
The bill would also allow the bank accounts of affected organizations to
be monitored, and access to the accounts and transactions deemed to
violate the new provisions could be blocked.
The measure is the latest in an escalating effort by Orbán’s government
to tighten its control over political expression and civic engagement in
Hungary as the European Union’s longest-serving leader faces a major
challenge to his 15-year grip on power in elections scheduled for next
year.
Parliament will likely vote on the bill in the coming days and it is
expected to pass since Fidesz has a two-thirds majority.
Facing mounting legal and financial pressure from the government, many
of Hungary’s independent media outlets and NGOs have increasingly
depended on international grants and assistance to sustain their
operations.
But in a February speech laced with conspiracy rhetoric, Orbán said that
organizations that receive any funding from outside Hungary's borders
“have to be taken down, they have to be swept away ... It is necessary
to make their existence legally impossible.”
Orbán has for years enacted crackdowns on NGOs and independent media,
passing laws that critics say seek to stigmatize and obstruct groups
that provide protection for women and minorities, offer legal and human
rights assistance and expose official corruption.
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Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban reacts during a press
statement at the Carmelite Monastery in the Buda Castle in Budapest,
Hungary, Thursday, April 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos, File)
Those efforts ramped up in 2023 when Orbán’s right-wing populist
government launched the Sovereignty Protection Office, an authority
tasked with investigating organizations and media outlets it deems
to be exerting foreign influence.
The office has the power to gather information on any groups or
individuals that benefit from foreign funding and influence public
debate, and Hungary’s secret services can assist in its
investigations. Violations can result in prison terms of up to three
years.
Opponents of the government's policies have compared the Sovereignty
Protection Office to Russia’s “foreign agent” law, and said it can
be used to arbitrarily target government critics, including NGOs and
journalists.
The bill introduced Tuesday outlines a broad definition of what
constitutes a threat to sovereignty. Organizations may be targeted
if they oppose or portray in a negative light values such as
Hungary’s democratic character, national unity, traditional family
structures, or Christian culture — suggesting that even legitimate
criticism of government policy could be treated as a national
security threat.
Groups placed on the list would be barred from receiving donations
through Hungary’s 1% personal income tax program — a vital funding
stream for many non-profits — and would be required to obtain
special authorization from the national tax authority to accept any
foreign donations.
In addition, Hungarian citizens donating to listed organizations
would need to submit a formal declaration affirming that their
contributions were not sourced from abroad. Organizations found to
have received prohibited support would be subject to fines amounting
to 25 times the value of the offending donation.
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