Latest news with #foreignfunding
Reuters
5 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Hungarian minister calls for safeguards in contested transparency bill
BUDAPEST, June 5 (Reuters) - A Hungarian government minister said on Thursday that a new transparency bill targeting foreign-funded groups must not be used for political prosecution and should contain safeguards, highlighting differences within the ruling party over the plan. Prime Minister Viktor Orban, in power since 2010, pledged in March to crack down on foreign funding of independent media, opposition politicians and NGOs. The bill, submitted to parliament by Orban's nationalist Fidesz party on May 14, would draft a list of organisations that get foreign funding and restrict or even shut them down if deemed to threaten Hungary's sovereignty and its culture. Critics say the bill aims to stifle political dissent ahead of a national election due in 2026 when Orban faces an unprecedented challenge from a new opposition party. The bill has prompted street protests, while scores of editors from leading European news outlets signed a petition last month calling on Hungary to scrap the bill. On Wednesday Fidesz unexpectedly postponed a parliamentary debate on the legislation and said a vote would not take place before the summer recess. Regional Development Minister Tibor Navracsics said he backed the original purpose of the legislation to create transparency over the finances of groups influencing public discourse but voiced opposition to some provisions. "If we must be drawing up a list (of organisations), then that must be as specific as possible, or the possibility of judicial recourse must be provided," Navracsics, a former justice minister, told the Otpontban political podcast. Navracsics, a former European Commissioner, said he also opposed a proposal to strip targeted organisations of the right to receive voluntary income tax donations from the public. Navracsics dismissed speculation that Orban would not contest the upcoming election as prime minister but he said the lavish lifestyle of some ruling party politicians and businessmen around Fidesz was "harmful". "I do not know if this will be a decisive factor (in the election). However, from my own constituency I know there are indeed people irritated by such levels of wealth inequality," he said.
The Guardian
6 days ago
- Business
- The Guardian
Hungary postpones vote on law to curb foreign-funded organisations
Hungary's ruling party has postponed a planned vote on draft legislation aimed at organisations that receive foreign funding, following weeks of protests and warnings that the law would 'starve and strangle' civil society and independent media. Viktor Orbán's rightwing populist party, Fidesz, put forward legislation last month that would allow the government to monitor, penalise and potentially ban organisations that receive any sort of foreign funding, including donations or EU grants. Any organisation could be targeted if it was deemed to 'threaten the sovereignty of Hungary by using foreign funding to influence public life'. The parliamentary vote had been expected to take place in mid-June. Despite critics likening the legislation to Russia's 'foreign agent' law, it was forecast to be passed by parliament as Fidesz holds a two-thirds majority. But on Wednesday, Fidesz' parliamentary party leader, Mâté Kocsis, told local media that the vote would be postponed until autumn as the government had received several suggestions regarding the law. 'We are united in our intentions, but there is still debate about the means,' he added on social media. Civil rights organisations celebrated the delay, with Amnesty International calling it a 'huge joint success'. 'Of course, we can only rest easy once this unlawful bill has been scrapped for good,' the group said on social media. 'Unfortunately, one thing is certain: the government will not give up its attempts to silence independent voices, as has been its goal since 2010.' Previously, Zoltán Kovács, a spokesperson for the Hungarian government, had said the bill had been introduced amid worries that foreign-funded organisations, primarily from the US and Brussels, were shaping the country's political discourse. The legislation takes a broad view of what constitutes a threat, describing it as acts undermining Hungary's constitutional identity or Christian culture or challenging the primacy of marriage, the family and biological sexes. The proposal was swiftly slammed by opposition politicians, who said it would allow the government to potentially shut down all independent media and NGOs engaged in public affairs, while Transparency International described it as a 'dark turning point' for Hungary. 'It is designed to crush dissent, silence civil society, and dismantle the pillars of democracy,' the organisation noted. The warning was echoed by the Hungarian Helsinki Committee. 'If this bill passes, it will not simply marginalise Hungary's independent voices – it will extinguish them,' co-chair Márta Pardavi said in a statement that described the draft law as 'Operation Starve and Strangle'. Scores of Hungarians took to the streets in protest while more than 90 editors-in-chief and publishers from across Europe, including from the Guardian, Libération in France and Gazeta Wyborcza in Poland, called on the EU to take action. Sign up to Headlines Europe A digest of the morning's main headlines from the Europe edition emailed direct to you every week day after newsletter promotion The bill pushed by Orbán – who is facing an unprecedented challenge from a former member of the Fidesz elite, Péter Magyar, ahead of elections next spring – has been described as one of his government's boldest to date. 'Its aim is to silence all critical voices and eliminate what remains of Hungarian democracy once and for all,' a joint statement, signed by more than 300 civil society and media organisations, recently noted. Magyar was quick to respond to the delayed vote, saying on social media that it would allow the government to 'squeeze even more' out of the proposed bill and 'further divert attention from … the livelihood and housing crisis, Orbán's galloping inflation and the destruction of education'. The introduction of the draft law in Hungary's parliament had marked an 'escalation' in the government's years of democratic backsliding, said Veronika Móra, the director of the Ökotárs-Hungarian Environmental Partnership Foundation. Many in the country's steadily shrinking civic space had been left rattled by the proposed law and reeling from the uncertainty of what comes next. 'And we've already felt the chilling effects, especially smaller, weaker organisations who were really frightened by the draft law and the potential consequences,' she said. 'So even if it's not passed – which would be great – it's already had an impact.'
Reuters
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
European editors sign petition opposing Hungary's move against foreign-funded groups
BUDAPEST, May 20 (Reuters) - Over 80 editors from leading European news outlets signed a petition calling for the scrapping of legislation in Hungary that aims to restrict foreign-funded media and rights groups, a step critics say is meant to stifle criticism of the government. The bill submitted last week by Prime Minister Viktor Orban's nationalist Fidesz party would draft a list of entities that get foreign funding and curb or even shut them down if the government decides they threaten Hungary and its culture. The legislation has been widely criticised by Hungarian news outlets, think tanks and rights groups, saying it appears aimed at muffling political dissent. Street protests have occurred. Signatories of the petition, published on Tuesday, said Fidesz was "adopting the very same authoritarian tactics seen" in Russia under President Vladimir Putin. Russia adopted legislation in 2012 allowing authorities to label foreign-funded NGOs engaged in political activity as foreign agents. Signatories said the survival of a free press was both a domestic Hungarian and European-wide issue, "especially in a region where an increasing number of populist leaders are adopting Viktor Orban's methods". The petition was signed by 84 leading editors from the Guardian in Britain, Liberation in France, Gazeta Wyborcza in Poland, ORF in Austria, SME in Slovakia and Hospodarske Noviny in the Czech Republic, among others. They urged their respective governments and European Union institutions to work to prevent the passage of the law, saying that it contradicted both EU treaties and the Charter of Fundamental Rights. Hungarian lawmakers planned to debate the bill on Tuesday, with a vote scheduled for mid-June. Approval is likely as Fidesz commands an absolute majority in parliament. Orban, in power since 2010, pledged in March to crack down on foreign funding of independent media and opposition leaders in what critics called a move to bolster his position ahead of elections, due in 2026 and expected to be closely fought.
Reuters
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Hungary ruling party drafts bill to crack down on foreign-funded organisations
BUDAPEST, May 14 (Reuters) - Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's Fidesz party submitted a bill to parliament which would list organisations that receive foreign financing and curtail their activities if they are deemed a threat to Hungary's sovereignty. Orban pledged to crack down on foreign funding of independent media, opposition politicians and NGOs in March, stepping up his campaign ahead of elections due in 2026 when he faces an unprecedented challenge from a new opposition party. The legislation, submitted late on Tuesday, would allow the Sovereignty Protection Office (SPO) to draw up a list of foreign-funded legal entities whose activities are considered to be a threat. They could be listed if the SPO says their activities "undermine Hungary's independent, democratic and rule-of-law-based character" or violate Hungary's constitutional identity or Christian culture. Challenging the primacy of marriage, the family and biological sexes would also be considered a threat. Organisations on the list will have their bank accounts monitored, and funds from abroad considered a threat can be blocked. If the bill is passed, authorities will be allowed to enter offices of organisations and examine their documents and electronic devices. If an organisation accepts foreign money, it has to pay a fine 25 times more than the actual funding received. If they are unable to pay the fine within 15 days, they must cease operations, the bill says. Representatives of the Hungarian Helsinki Commission and Transparency International Hungary, organisations the government has said are foreign-funded, were not immediately available for comment. In March, parliament passed a bill that allows the annual Pride march by the LGBTQ+ community to be banned, triggering protests. The Sovereignty Protection Office was created by the government in 2023 to monitor risks in what the ruling Fidesz party called undue political interference by foreign persons or groups. The European Commission launched an infringement procedure over the law that created the SPO, citing its potential to undermine the EU's democratic values and fundamental rights.
New York Times
08-05-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Trump Administration Demands Records From Penn on Foreign Ties
The Trump administration on Thursday accused the University of Pennsylvania of submitting incomplete, inaccurate financial disclosures about its foreign ties and ordered the Ivy League school to provide a raft of records. The demand for documents included the names and contact information of university personnel who work with foreign governments, including in research collaborations and student exchange programs. Officials suggested in a letter sent on Thursday from the Education Department to J. Larry Jameson, the president of Penn, that the college has struggled with veracity in its disclosures of foreign funding. By law, U.S. colleges and universities are required twice a year to report foreign gifts and contracts worth $250,000 or more to the government. In Penn's latest filing, more than half of the disclosures were reported late, according to the department. The government also said the university had misidentified many of the foreign sources without providing additional details. Consequently, the department said it is demanding the college produce a lengthy and detailed list of documents within 30 days. Those documents include copies of admissions agreements with foreign governments for international students, as well as records related to faculty and research collaborations from the past eight years. The government is also seeking the names and contact information for university personnel involved in the 'creation, administration or management' of those agreements. In addition, the department asked for the names and contact information of college personnel involved in exchange student visitor programs and anyone involved in international research collaborations. A spokesman for Penn did not immediately return a request for comment. The investigation into Penn's foreign funding is at least the third such inquiry started by the agency in the past three weeks. On April 18, the department said it was investigating Harvard University's foreign donations, and April 25, the department said it was probing disclosures submitted by the University of California, Berkeley. Those investigations included similar requests for documents. Representatives for Berkley and Harvard said they were in full compliance with the law. The investigations are part of a widening pressure campaign that the Trump administration has launched on the nation's elite universities, a strategy to aimed at realigning what they view as the liberal tilt of elite universities. Mr. Trump recently signed an executive order instructing his administration to make it more difficult for universities to obscure details of foreign funding.
