Hungary has defended its postiion on where it stands on NGOs and in particular "Soros organizations".
According to a satement released by the International Communictions Office of the Hungarian government, Soros-like organizations in the US could never do what they are doing in Europe.
"The most recent statement by the US Department of State is another stark example of double standards, since the regulation in force in the USA is much stricter than that in Hungary. In the United States, Soros organizations could never do what they are doing in Europe," the statement reads.
The Act on the Transparency of Organizations Funded from Abroad has been subjected to an ongoing disinformation campaign in the international media, strongly assisted by Soros organizations.
It is regrettable to see even the US Department of State being misled on this issue. If they were accurately informed about the published legislation, they would certainly recognize that the Hungarian law is based on the American model – the FARA Act, or Foreign Agents Registration Act – but is much less restrictive than its US counterpart.
The statement continues that in the United States of America, since 1938 there has been a requirement for organizations funded from abroad to be registered.
The Hungarian proposal, which is much more lenient than the American regulations, in no way restricts the right of free association or the functioning of non-governmental organizations.
The Act includes a single new element which states that the foreign funding of such organizations must be made transparent, just as it is in the United States.
The communications office states that Hungary would like everyone to see which organizations funded from abroad are seeking to influence Hungarian public life and migration policy in accordance with foreign interests.
An overwhelming majority of Hungarians support the legislation: in the recent National Consultation, ninety-nine percent of respondents supported adoption of the legislation.