Fidesz defends controversial transparency law in letter to EU: “Hungarian democracy belongs to the people”
“In Hungary, democracy belongs to the people, not to foreign powers or their agents,” Kinga Gál and Tamás Deutsch, leaders of the Hungarian Fidesz-Christian Democrat group in the European Parliament, said in a letter to fellow MEPs on Wednesday.
Gál and Deutsch said: “Recent scandals at European Union level show that political lobby groups have grown far too influential. They claim to represent civil society but in fact they serve political goals.”
Referring to “findings of investigations in recent years and information that have come to light”, the MEPs said that US and Brussels-based organisations “have given support of several million dollars to Hungarian activist groups and media that openly promote left-liberal ideologies.”
“These organisations are spreading propaganda contrary to Hungary’s national interest. They promoted a narrative of lies and distorted facts that served as a basis for political and legal attacks against Hungary. They were clearly aimed at weakening Hungary’s border control capabilities and preventing access to EU funds legitimately owed to Hungarians,” the letter said.
In light of the “USAID scandal”, it said, “nobody can turn a blind eye to reality, and the boundaries must be clearly defined: in Hungary no foreign-funded organisations should be able to work in the background in future.”
“Hungarians are entitled to know who finances the organisations that have political influence in their country,” the letter said, adding that “non-party affiliated players should also be under control if their activities influence decision-making.”
Concerning a recent Hungarian bill concerning the transparency of public life aimed at forming a register of organisations “receiving financing from abroad and actively shaping Hungary’s political discourse”, the MEPs said it had been inspired by the US Foreign Agents Registration Act, but, they added, the Hungarian version is “more refined” and “far less stringent”.
“In today’s political situation the protection of sovereignty is no longer a theoretical issue but a practical necessity. Hungary’s new law creates a precedent for protecting democratic institutions against external influencing and strengthens the nation’s right to self-defence. Hungary’s transparency law is not just a legal construct but a clear political declaration: Hungarian democracy is exclusively accountable to the Hungarian people,” the MEPs wrote in their letter.
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