On Wednesday 4 October, the European Commission decided to continue its actions against Hungary over the law on higher education, which the institution suspects serves Viktor Orban's government as a weapon against political opponent George Soros, and the law on NGOs.
Concerning the Hungarian law on higher education, which is particularly aimed at the Central European University, backed by the Hungarian-American billionaire, it is in fact a second reasoned opinion following an initial injunction dated 14 July (see EUROPE 11829). In the first version, the Commission stated that the Hungarian law was not compatible with the freedom of establishment and provision of services throughout Europe for higher education institutions.
It also argued that the new law runs counter to the right of academic freedom, the right to education and the freedom of enterprise enshrined by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU.
According to the European institution, the law is incompatible with the EU's legal obligations in terms of international commercial law (in the framework of the General Agreement on Trade in Services, GATS). Hungary replied to the Commission on 14 August, but the second reasoned opinion contains additional clarifications about its concerns regarding the EU's obligations under GATS.
The Commission is working on the premise that Budapest is aware of these concerns and has therefore decided to give it just two weeks to respond to the second reasoned opinion sent in the framework of this same procedure.
NGOs. The reasoned opinion concerning the law on NGOs benefiting from foreign capital follows a letter of formal notice also sent on 14 July of this year. The Commission believes Budapest is infringing the provisions of the treaty on the free movement of capital. The Hungarian law, it argues, brings about indirect discrimination against gifts to civil society organisations from other countries and restricts them disproportionately.
Aside from these concerns, the Commission also takes the view that Hungary is breaching the right to freedom of association and the right to the protection of privacy and personal data, laid down in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union in combination with the provisions of the EU Treaty. Budapest will have one month to respond on this point.
The Hungarian law on NGOs receiving foreign capital, which was adopted on 13 June, lays down new obligations on certain categories of NGOs receiving foreign funding of more than 7.2 million HUF (around €24,000) a year, including a requirement to register as organisations benefiting from foreign support and to notify the Hungarian authorities of specific information concerning the funding received from abroad.
Relocation of asylum seekers.. On the other hand, the Commission has still not made any decisions about another infringement procedure against Hungary over the relocation of asylum seekers, in which the next step may be to refer the country to the Court of Justice (see EUROPE 11864). It has denied that the matter was on the agenda of the College of Commissioners of 4 October at any point. This infringement also concerns Poland and the Czech Republic. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)