EU takes Hungary to European Court of Justice over ‘soverignty’ laws
Al Jazeera
The European Commission says the ‘soverignty’ laws breached a series of rights enshrined in European Union law.
The European Commission says it is taking Hungary to court over its foreign influence laws, which critics have regarded as a tool to silence opposition voices.
The European body said on Thursday that the foreign influence laws violated fundamental rights and freedoms.
“The European Commission decided to refer Hungary to the Court of Justice because it considers its national law on the ‘Defence of Sovereignty’ to be in breach of EU law,” the European Union executive body said.
Hungary has said that “sovereignty” laws were established to criminalise foreign funding for election campaigns and establish a Sovereignty Protection Office with broad investigative powers.
However, the European body has said that the amount of power granted to the new office disproportionately affected civil society organisations, media outlets, and journalists.
