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FIDESZ: HUNGARIANS HAVE RIGHT TO INFO ON NGO FOREIGN FUNDING

 

Fidesz’s communications director has said Hungarians had the right to information on which NGOs received foreign funding and how much.
István Hollik said in an online briefing that “this principle will be enforced” while taking into consideration the ruling of the European Court of Justice, adding that it appeared the government would face “another battle”. He noted the European court had ruled that the 2017 law did not conform to European law, insisting that the ruling was a factor of the influence of financier George Soros.
Hollik defended the law as a way of ensuring that the finances of foreign-funded and domestic NGOs operating in Hungary were transparent. He said the “Soros network” and the left wing had lobbied vigorously against the law, so the ruling had not come as a surprise. He added that this network wanted to make sure that no one knew how much foreign money NGOs received or from whom because this would reveal what interests they serve.