An MEP of ruling Fidesz has rejected new European Union regulations on political advertising, saying the rules would give Brussels an opportunity to “exercise censorship during election campaigns in member states and to influence their outcome”.
The regulation will “clearly curb member states’ sovereignty,” Edina Tóth said in a statement after the EP’s plenary session on Tuesday, where the new rules on the transparency of political advertising were adopted with 470 votes in favour, 50 against and 105 abstentions.
The measures’ objective was clearly “to set up rules in Brussels on what a political campaign can talk about, curbing the competencies of member states”, Tóth said, saying the measure amounted to “curbing the free expression of opinion”.
“We shall stand up to the attacks on our freedom! We shall not give in to stealthy attempts to expand Brussels’ competencies,” she said.
Hungary saw the step as a politically motivated attempt to influence election rules in member states, and a violation of the principle of subsidiarity, she said.
“It is sad to see the chief advocates of freedom of opinion violating the freedom of speech and working constantly on censoring opinions they don’t like,” she added, rejecting that EU institutions should have power over opinions criticising the EU.
At the plenary session on Tuesday, the EP adopted rules on regulating political adverts to make elections and referendums “more transparent and resistant to interference”, the EP said in a statement. “Under the new rules, political advertising will have to be clearly labelled. Citizens, authorities and journalists will be able to easily obtain information on whether they are being targeted with an ad, who is paying for it, how much is being paid, and to which elections or referendum it is linked. All political advertising and related information will be stored in a public online repository. To limit foreign interference in European democratic processes, sponsoring ads from outside the EU will be prohibited in the three-month period before an election or referendum,” the EP said. The regulation bans the use of special categories of personal data such as ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation, the statement said.
The regulation is yet to be adopted by the European Council.
Fidesz MEPs back EU MFF revision
The MEPs of ruling Fidesz on Tuesday backed an agreement of European Union heads of state and government on the revision of the EU’s seven-year budget, as Hungary received guarantees that the funds it is entitled to “would not land in Ukraine”, the delegation said in a statement to MTI. The European Parliament’s plenary session has voted in favour of a mid-term revision of the bloc’s 2021-2027 budget, including for 50 billion euros in long-term aid for Ukraine. Fully 499 MEPs voted in favour of the changes, 67 against and 31 abstained.
The aid for Ukraine will be disbursed over a period of four years in direct support, loans and guarantees, and will serve the war-torn country’s recovery, reconstruction and modernisation, the EP said in a statement.
The EP also voted for setting up the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP), “which aims to make the EU more strategically independent and to foster innovation”, the statement said. The scheme aims to promote digital green and biotechnology, the EP said.
Fidesz MEP András Gyürk said STEP could provide “crucial help” for the European industry currently in a severe crisis.
“European competitiveness is in ruins, many companies are mulling layoffs and leaving the continent,” Gyürk said, adding that the situation was a consequence of the industry policy of “Brussels bureaucrats” building on sanctions against Russia, “unrealistic green goals” and on growing bureaucracy.
Fidesz has backed the measure as they saw STEP as a potential help in the current situation. At the same time, “a real solution to the crisis requires change in Brussels,” he said.
Fidesz MEPs slam new EP regulation against judicial intimidation
MEPs of ruling Fidesz have rejected European parliamentary legislation aimed at defending critical voices from judicial intimidation, saying that the measure would “create a regime where organisations and members of the Soros network would be above the law”. At a plenary on Tuesday, the EP adopted legislation to protect “individuals and organisations working on matters of public interest such as fundamental rights, allegations of corruption, protection of democracy or the fight against disinformation are given EU protection against unfounded and abusive lawsuits”, the EP said in a press release.
The legislation will apply to cross-border cases, not those where both the defendant and claimant are from the same EU country as the court or when the case is only relevant to one member state, the EP said.
Fidesz MEP Erno Schaller-Baross slammed the law for “exempting NGOs, self-appointed rights activists, climate activists causing serious economic damage and organisers of illegal migration from lawsuits just because that would violate their rights to participate in public affairs”, saying the practice could lead to the cover-up of unlawful activities.
“The new EU law casts doubts on national courts’ ability to decide when to launch proceedings and which side is in the right,” Schaller-Baross said.
MEP delegation head Balazs Hidveghi said: “The underlying goal is clearly to exempt members of the Soros network from the law.” “The aim is to enable certain journalists and NGOs to do whatever they like without being held accountable. No one stands above the law,” Hidveghi said.
The law was adopted with 546 votes in favour, 47 against and 31 abstentions.
Read also:
- State secretary Kovács: Hungarian government policy not influencedby Western media
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3 Comments
Navalny’s widow just spoke at the European Parliament. All of the Fidesz MEPs walked out when she arrived for her speech. This act is not just extremely offensive but is rightly classified as just evil. This is what the Hungarian Government under Fidesz has become -evil.
“The aim is to enable certain journalists and NGOs to do whatever they like without being held accountable. No one stands above the law,” Hidveghi said.
No mercy for NGOs or journalists seeking to unveil the truth but organizers of illegal migration and pedophile helpers indeed stand above the law in Hungary as their sentences are cut short by the Hungarian government ruled by Fidesz.
Ostanus, yes one pedophile helper was pardoned that was a mistake. You are blaming the whole government and the people of Hungary; Hungary has the strongest child support laws. Your statement is beyond idiotic. In the same manner, the world can call you a Nazi, because white people were NAZIS.
Larry, why would you insist that everyone should listen to Navalny’s wife’s speech. What has she imparted over the last 2 weeks that was so earth shattering or important. Since the death of Navalny, the wife has been making speeches; it seems Ms. Navalny forgot to grieve. The speeches made by this woman in the past two weeks certainly do not reflect love and respect for a husband. Mrs. Navalny seem to want her 5 minutes of fame.