| Author (Corporate) | Cardiff EDC (Compiler) |
|---|---|
| Publication Date | 2017 |
| Content Type | News, Overview |
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Summary: Reports and information relating to the infringement procedure launched by the European Commission against Hungary over a law adopted in June 2017 relating to foreign-funded civil organisations (NGOs). This law was known as one of the 'Soros laws'. Further information: The Hungarian law introduces new obligations for certain categories of NGOs receiving annual foreign funding above HUF7.2 million (approx. €24,000) to register and label themselves in all their publications, websites and press material as 'organisations supported from abroad', and to report specific information about the funding they receive from abroad to the Hungarian authorities. These organisations face sanctions if they fail to comply with the new reporting and transparency obligations. The Commission concluded that this law does not comply with EU law for the following reasons:
The infringement procedure was launched on 13 July 2017 by the European Commission sending a Letter of Formal Notice to the Hungarian authorities over the adopted legislation. The recipients were given one month to respond to this Letter - the reply was sent to the European Commission on 14 August. On 4 October, the Commission moved to the second stage of the procedure by sending a Reasoned Opinion to Hungary, due to insufficient response from the national authorities to the legal concerns. Again, national authorities were given one month to respond accordingly. On 7 December, the Commission decided to refer Hungary to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) for its law on foreign-funded NGOs. |
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| Subject Categories | Politics and International Relations, Values and Beliefs |
| Subject Tags | Interest Groups |
| Keywords | Non-Governmental Organisations [NGOs] |
| Countries / Regions | Hungary |
| International Organisations | European Union [EU] |
