The group leader of the ruling Fidesz party, Máté Kocsis, told a press conference on Wednesday that deputies of the ruling party fully support the party’s recently submitted bill on the transparency of public life.
“The proposal concerns all organizations that conduct activities aimed at influencing (Hungarian) politics, using foreign funds, in a way that harms Hungary’s sovereignty,” Kocsis said.
According to Kocsis, it was revealed after 2022 that “foreign states, including the US”sought to set up organisations to exert political pressure in other countries and finance media activities “to remove governments they don’t like”. Kocsis mentioned “several of Hungary’s leftist media outlets,” for example.
Moreover, he said, “they finance pseudo-civil organisations and activists”, and “they often pay for politicians to get their own interests promoted.” In 2022, the election campaign of Hungary’s allied leftist parties was aided by several million dollars.
Kocsis added, however, that “the USAID scandal in the US this year” has offered an opportunity for the US administration to remove that practice and stop trying to interfere with the democratic processes of other countries.”
Concerning the proposal, Kocsis said, “those that have nothing to hide, those that do not seek to influence politics out of foreign funds to harm the country’s sovereignty should not worry.”
Under the proposal, the justice ministry would compile a list of organisations on recommendation by the Sovereignty Protection Office to be submitted to the government for approval. The law will ensure opportunities for legal remedy, Kocsis said, adding that “the proposal fully complies with Hungary’s rule of law”.
Kocsis said the list of organisations would be public, adding that “these procedures will not be conducted in secret”. He also said leaders of the listed organisations would be obliged to submit asset declarations as “key public players”.
