The European Commission announced on Wednesday that it has opened a new sanctions case against Hungary because it considers that its law on the defence of sovereignty to investigate foreign interference “violates fundamental rights”.
The infringement procedure begins with a letter of formal notice giving Viktor Orbán’s government two months to “rectify” the situation. This is the first of three stages under the EU mechanism. If the situation is not resolved, Brussels will refer the case to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU).
The EU executive underlined when announcing the dossier that its decision is the result of a “thorough assessment” of the law adopted by the Hungarian Parliament in December last year – and widely supported by the Hungarian people in a national referendum. The law creates an Office for the Defence of Sovereignty to investigate activities intended to influence the voting decision of Hungarians, or to benefit another state, or foreign organisation or person.
The Hungarian government has reacted to the announcement of the dossier with a new defence of its law: “Brussels and the left-wing masters of the dollar are attacking the Defence of Sovereignty Act because it was designed to prevent foreign interference with Soros dollars,” said a government spokesman, referring to globalist tycoon George Soros.
