BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) – Hungary’s parliament on Tuesday approved a law regulating civic groups which receive foreign funding, a move critics see as part of Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s efforts to stifle dissent and increase control over public discourse.
The bill passed by the governing parties led by Orban compels groups getting more than 7.2 million forints ($26,200) a year from abroad to register the fact with the courts and announce in most of their online and printed publications that they are foreign-funded.
Non-governmental organizations will also have to list any foreign sponsors giving them more than 500,000 forints ($1,800) a year.
The law is nominally meant to increase transparency among civic groups and boost efforts against money laundering and the financing of terrorism
“No one wants to limit anyone’s operations in Hungary … but organizations whose foreign financing is not known can’t be allowed to take part in Hungarian public life,” said Gergely Gulyas, a deputy parliamentary speaker and member of Orban’s Fidesz party.