On 20 June, the Hungarian parliament passed a series of laws, known as “Stop Soros” after George Soros, the long-time opponent of Viktor Orban. These laws, a campaign promise by Orban, make it possible to bring criminal charges against NGOs which aid migrants. They were passed by the overwhelming majority of 160 votes to 18.
The new legislation makes assistance by NGOs to migrants liable to criminal prosecution, with penalties of up to one year in prison for anyone found guilty of helping migrants who entered Hungary illegally from a non-Schengen country and who are not in immediate danger.
NGO officials may also be banned from travelling any closer than eight kilometres from the external Schengen border. The EU’s imposition of refugee quotas was also made unconstitutional after the “Stop Soros” series of laws was preceded by an amendment to the constitution which states that no body may adversely affect the composition of the Hungarian population, thereby making the requirement to take “quotas” of asylum seekers unconstitutional.
The Commission will now closely examine the legislation, viewing this further stage “not without concern”, said Commission spokesperson Christian Vigand on Thursday. He stated that “the values on which Europe is based” must not be ignored. The Commission now keenly awaits the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission opinion on this situation. The European Parliament’s civil liberties committee will vote on the report by Judith Sargentini (Greens/EFA, Netherlands) on the human rights situation in Hungary and the Article 7 procedure launched by Parliament in 2017. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)