Democracy Digest: New Laws on NGOs Raise Concerns in Hungary and Poland

As reported by OKO.press, the new reporting stipulations could potentially allow the Polish government to compile lists of critical NGOs funded by actors outside Poland and depict them as foreign agents, albeit indirectly, for example by using state media channels controlled by the nationalist-populist Law and Justice (PiS) party. Such practice is not unprecedented in Poland. It might also, as OKO.press pointed out, lead to private donors becoming more reluctant to finance some organisations out of fear that their reputation would later be trashed in government-friendly media outlets.

The Hungarian parliament, meanwhile, has been busy this week correcting laws that were subsequently found to be problematic by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). However, the 'improved' versions reveal that the government's approach to civil society organisations and academic freedom hasn't changed one iota.

In 2017 Hungary adopted a law, dubbed "Soros law", that the Fidesz government said was meant to ensure the transparency of civil society organisations funded from abroad. NGOs receiving over 20,000 euros from abroad had to register as foreign-funded organisations and publish such information on their website and in all their publications.

However, the CJEU ruled last summer that the restrictions imposed on NGOs in Hungary do not comply with EU law, arguing the measure was discriminatory and restricted both free movement of capital and freedom of association. The law also created a climate of distrust against civil society organisations, the court added.

Hungary waited almost a year to revoke the law, but has now substituted it with a new one that human rights organisations find almost as problematic. The new law, passed this week with...