Brussels takes Orbán’s ‘Sovereignty Law’ to the CJEU because it considers that it violates fundamental rights

Orbán maintains that the objective of this norm, which came into force on December 23, 2023, is to combat foreign interference that pose a threat to the sovereignty of Hungary. But NGOs and the opposition have denounced that It is a tool to silence critical voices. The Law creates a Sovereignty Protection Office, equipped with broad investigative powers and a strict surveillance and sanctions system.

This Office has very broad discretion when investigating, particularly in access to information, and can intervene “in an intrusive manner.” The Act requires widespread publicity about individual investigations and their results, which will have negative consequences for affected entities, including “a stigmatizing effect.” The broad powers of the Office will “disproportionately” affect NGOs, media and journalistsaccording to Brussels.

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In February 2024, the Community Executive sent a letter of formal notice to Hungary, the first phase of an infringement procedure, in which it expressed its concerns. In May 2024, after considering Orbán’s response unsatisfactory, Brussels sent the Government of Budapest a reasoned opinion in which it reiterated that the Law violates the fundamental rights enshrined in the EU Charter, the fundamental freedoms of the internal market and Community legislation on data protection.

In response to this reasoned opinion, Hungary argued that the Defense of Sovereignty Law does not infringe EU law and that the concerns raised were unfounded.

After carefully evaluating the final response of the Orbán Government, the Commission maintains the majority of the problems identified, which have not been corrected. Specifically, Brussels confirms that the norm violates several fundamental rights: the right to respect for private and family life, freedom of expression and information, freedom of association, the right to professional secrecy and the presumption of innocence, which implies the right not to incriminate oneself.

The Community Executive also considers that the Law violates several fundamental freedoms of the internal market, the electronic commerce directive, the services directive and EU data protection legislation. For all these reasons, Brussels has decided to denounce Hungary before the CJEU.

This is the last of the fronts that the Von der Leyen Commission has opened against the Orbán Government for its authoritarian drift. Last June, the CJEU already imposed a fine of 200 million euros for breaching European asylum law. The penalty continues to increase at a rate of 1 million euros per day and Budapest refuses to pay, which is why the Community Executive has begun to deduct the amount of structural funds allocated to Hungary.