EU takes Hungary to European Court of Justice over ‘sovereignty’ rules | News of the European Union

The European Commission says the ‘sovereignty’ rules violate a range of rights set out in European Union law.

The European Commission says it is taking Hungary to court over its foreign influence laws, which critics have seen as a tool to silence dissent.

The European Union said on Thursday that foreign influence laws violate fundamental rights and freedoms.

“The European Commission has decided to refer Hungary to the Court of Justice because it considers its national ‘sovereignty protection’ law to be in breach of EU law,” said the European Union’s executive body.

Hungary said the “sovereignty” laws were introduced to criminalize foreign funding of election campaigns and establish a Sovereignty Protection Office with broad investigative powers.

However, the European body said that the amount of power given to the new office unfairly affected civil society, the media and journalists.

It said on Thursday the law violates a range of rights and freedoms set out in EU law, including the right to respect for private and family life, freedom of expression and freedom of assembly.

‘Election tactics’

While the office does not have the power to punish anyone on its own, its results can be used to prosecute candidates who accept foreign funding, who could face up to three years in prison.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s party, Fidesz, earlier said the law would end “electoral tactics” amid allegations that opposition parties were receiving money from US-based organizations ahead of the 2022 election.

The referral to the court comes after the Commission wrote to Hungary twice: once to outline its complaints and a second time to request a response.

The court action is the latest twist in a long-running battle between Brussels and Budapest.

In 2022, the commission blocked large sums of money over concerns that a democratic backsliding by the Orban government could put the bloc’s regular budget at risk.

Hungary currently holds the EU presidency, until the end of December. At the start of his term, Orban visited Moscow to discuss the possibility of a peaceful settlement in Ukraine with Russian President Vladimir Putin, much to the chagrin of his EU allies.

Many countries protested by sending only low-level officials to the meetings held in Hungary.