European Commission steps up infringement of Hungary over laws

The European Commission is stepping up infringement procedures against Hungary concerning three areas: EU migrant quotas, the transparency of foreign-funded NGOs and higher education.

The EC said on Thursday that it will refer Hungary to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) over the three related laws.

It referred Hungary to the European court for failing to comply with a temporary emergency relocation scheme for refugees, stating that “Hungary has not taken any action at all since the relocation scheme started”.

The EC also referred the Czech Republic and Poland to the court over non-compliance on the matter. It launched infringement procedures against the three countries on the issue in June and took the process to the next level in July.

Hungary and Slovakia earlier challenged the scheme in the CJEU, but the court rejected their request to annul the decision by the Council of the European Union on the mandatory relocation of asylum seekers.

The EC also decided to refer Hungary to the Court of Justice over legislation on foreign-funded NGOs which “indirectly discriminates and disproportionately restricts donations from abroad to civil society organisations”.

“The Commission is also of the opinion that Hungary violates the right to freedom of association and the rights to protection of private life and personal data enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, read in conjunction with the EU Treaty provisions on the free movement of capital,” it added.

The EC launched an infringement procedure against Hungary over the law in August and stepped up the procedure with the issue of a “reasoned opinion” in October.

The EC said Hungary had failed to reply to the reasoned opinion by the one-month deadline and had not taken steps to amend or repeal the contested provisions in the NGO law.