Reaction to US concern over Hungary’s Sovereignty Protection Law

In a first reaction, a commentator finds the statement by the US State Department hostile.

 Hours after President Novák signed the ‘Sovereignty Protection Law’ into force, State Department Spokesman Matthew Miller described it as ‘inconsistent with our shared values of democracy, individual liberty, and the rule of law’. He expressed concern over the establishment of the Sovereignty Protection Authority which ‘could be used to subject Hungarian citizens, businesses, and organizations to intrusive investigations with no judicial oversight’. (For earlier comments on the issue, see BudaPost, November 20.)

On Világgazdaság, Flórián Hecker calls the tone used by the State Department spokesman ‘outright unfriendly’. He quotes sources from the presidential palaces, that President Novák’s office was contacted by several people from inside and outside Hungary and that the messages from abroad ‘confirm the necessity to protect national identity and sovereignty’. Hecker remarks that the idea for the new law surfaced after national security services discovered that opposition parties received financial contributions from US sources during their electoral campaign last year.

Tags: sovereignty, US