Hungarian law requiring NGOs to disclose foreign funding incompatible with EU law

Hungary’s law on the financing of civil organisations from abroad infringes on the principle of free movement of capital and violates a number of fundamental rights of the European Union’s basic charter, a legal adviser to the EU’s top court said on Tuesday.

Advocate General Campos Sanchez-Bordona said the restrictions on NGOs are incompatible with EU law.

The law on the transparency of NGOs that receive funding from abroad was passed in 2017.

The European Commission has since launched an infringement procedure against Hungary at the EU court.

The European Union’s Court of Justice advocate general said in a non-binding opinion that the law that requires NGOs to release data if they receive funding from abroad infringes on respect for private life, protection of personal data, and freedom of association enshrined in the EU charter of fundamental rights.

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Source: MTI