New bill to silence remaining independent voices in Hungary
Eurochild signs open letter on the Hungarian bill entitled “Transparency of Public Life” which would enable the government to target, defund and dissolve any organisation it designates as “a threat to Hungarian sovereignty”.
On 13 May 2025, a member of Hungary’s ruling Fidesz party submitted a new bill, which, if adopted, would provide the government with the final tools to effectively and completely silence the remaining independent voices in Hungary. Ahead of the 2026 parliamentary elections, it is a stark warning and a threat to democratic principles, human rights and the rule of law in Hungary and in the EU as a whole.
It is similar to the 2017 Law on the Transparency of Organisations Receiving Foreign Funding, which the EU's top court ruled unlawful in 2020. But this new measure goes much further. It is part of a wider and ongoing breakdown of the rule of law since 2012, including ignoring court rulings and ruling by decree. It also builds on recent changes to the Fundamental Law made just a month ago, which targeted the LGBTIQ+ community and limited the right to peaceful protest.
The bill, which was not open to public consultation, targets organisations along four main axes:
- Foreign funding targeted through extended powers of the Sovereignty Protection Office
- Exclusion from domestic funding
- Misuse of the Anti-Money Laundering provisions
- Decisions without due process
The bill is in clear violation of EU law, including the free movement of capital, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the right to freedom of expression, association, the right to effective judicial protection and the right to protection of private life protected under the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, the European Convention on Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Our requests:
- We immediately request the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) to grant interim measures in the ongoing infringement procedure on the Law on the Defence of National Sovereignty (Case C-829/24).
- We call on the Hungarian government to withdraw the bill and if unsuccessful, open a new infringement procedure on new violations that are not linked to the ongoing case on the Defence of National Sovereignty.
- With the forthcoming Article 7 hearing on Hungary on 27 May 2025 and recognising the escalation of a systematic breakdown of the rule of law, support the Council of the EU to move to a vote on Article 7(1).
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