Brussels (The Brussels Morning Newspaper) – The EU Commission chooses to refer HUNGARY to the Court of Justice of the European Union assuming its national law on the Defence of Sovereignty to violate EU law.
The European Commission on 03 Oct 2024 decided to refer Hungary to the Court of Justice because it assumes its national law on the ‘Defence of Sovereignty’ to be in breach of EU law.
This national law specifies an ‘Office for the Defence of Sovereignty’, charged with investigating specific activities stated to be carried out in the interest of another State or a foreign body, organisation or natural person, allegedly exposed to violate or jeopardise the sovereignty of Hungary; and organisations whose movements using foreign funding allegedly affect the outcome of elections or the will of voters.
What are the main concerns about Hungary’s sovereignty office?
In February 2024, the EU Commission transmitted a letter of formal notice to Hungary raising its concerns. Finding that the response delivered by Hungary to its letter of formal notice was unsatisfactory, in May 2024, the Commission sent a reasoned statement reiterating the grievances concerning the breach of the fundamental rights consecrated in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, the Internal Market Fundamental Freedoms, and EU Data protection legislation. In reaction to this reasoned opinion, Hungary claimed that the Law on the Defence of Sovereignty does not intrude on EU Law and that the concerns presented were unfounded.
Why did the EU Commission reject Hungary’s response?
After carefully considering the reply of the Hungarian authorities, the EU Commission maintains most of the grudges recognised, have still not been managed. Those grievances involve several fundamental rights enshrined in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights: the right to respect for private and family life, the freedom of expression and information, the freedom of association, the right to legal professional privilege, as well as the presumption of innocence, which indicates the right not to incriminate oneself.
The EU Commission also considers that the law breaks several fundamental freedoms of the internal market, the e-Commerce Directive, the Services Directive, as well as EU Data protection legislation.
How could the sovereignty law impact foreign-funded activities?
On 12 December 2023, the Hungarian National Assembly assumed the Defence of Sovereignty Law authorising a new Office to carry out investigations including connecting to ‘any activity that is foreign-funded and that may affect the outcome of elections, the will of voters or sponsors such activities’.
According to its Preamble, the Law has been adopted in response to increasing unlawful attacks against the sovereignty of Hungary by foreign organisations and individuals seeking to assert their own interests in Hungary in opposition to Hungarian interests and rules. The law authorises the Office with a very broad discretion regarding investigations, notably on access to information, empowering the Office to interfere in an intrusive manner in investigations. The law demands extensive publicity about the individual investigations and their conclusions. This will have negative outcomes for the concerned entities including a stigmatising impact.
