Skip to content
Subscriber Only
Politics

Soros's Native Hungary Approves Crackdown on Foreign-Funded NGOs

  • Critics say the new regulation aims to stigmatize NGOs
  • Move comes amid EU concern over the rule of law in Hungary
Viktor Orban, Hungary's prime minister, holds a news conference in Budapest on Feb. 2, 2017.

Viktor Orban, Hungary's prime minister, holds a news conference in Budapest on Feb. 2, 2017.

Photographer: Akos Stiller/Bloomberg
By

Hungary’s parliament approved a law targeting foreign-funded non-governmental organizations, the latest step in Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s self-described rollback of liberal democracy that has put him on a collision course with the European Union.

Lawmakers of Orban’s ruling Fidesz party, which has a comfortable majority in the assembly, pushed through the law on Tuesday to create a special registry for “foreign-funded organizations.” It affects those receiving more than 7.2 million forint ($26,000) a year from abroad, ordering them to declare their “foreign” status on their websites and in all press kits and publications.