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Central Europe
June 16, 2017 www.intellinews.com I Page 12
has ominous echoes of Russian’s draconian “foreign agents” law that was passed in 2012.
In its communications, the Hungarian cabinet has referred to NGOs as “agent” organizations, accusing them of serving the interests of George Soros, the US-Hungarian financier and philanthropist who has become public enemy number one for many populist rightwing organisations and activists across the globe, not least the government in Budapest.
The government accuses the investor of seeking to swamp Europe with migrants, which Budapest claims means importing terrorism. The NGO
bill and the amended higher educational act
that threatens with the closure of the Soros- founded Central European University, is seen by many as a strike against the Hungarian-born businessman.
The EU has stepped up pressure against Hungary in the wake of these regulatory changes. In May, the European Commission launched an infringement procedure against
the bills and the European Parliament adopted
a resolution to trigger Article 7, citing the serious deterioration of rule of law and democracy in
the country. Brussels launched infringement proceedings against Hungary's refusal to accept refugees under the EU’s migrant quotas system on June 13.
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