BRUSSELS - The European Commission Brussels has sued Viktor Orbán’s government over a new security law that the bloc says is in breach of citizens’ fundamental rights, the latest escalation in long-running tensions with Budapest.
The European Commission, the EU’s executive branch, asked the European Court of Justice, the EU’s Luxembourg-based top court, to declare Hungary’s so-called “Sovereignty Protection Act” illegal.
Passed in December 2023, the law set up a special office to investigate the foreign funding of non-government groups, media outlets and politicians. Already, the office has launched investigations into Transparency International Hungary, a global anti-corruption organization, and Átlátszó, an investigative non-profit supported by international donations.
The law also is being used to investigate the financing of Orbán's chief political rival, Péter Magyar, a former Orbán ally turned whistleblower and a rising star seriously challenging the prime minister.
The EU says the law is a blatant violation of democratic principles and that Orbán is using it to target critics and opponents.
In a statement, the commission said the law violated several fundamental rights enshrined under EU law, such as the rights to privacy, freedom of expression and free assembly, and breached EU regulations related to free trade within the bloc and data protection.
