European Commission sues Hungary over Stop Soros legislation

As the European Commission takes Hungary to the EU court over a series of 2018 laws which targeted migrants and those who help them, a pro-government commentator accuses the EC of trying to force migration on the country. His left-wing counterpart thinks that Hungary is violating basic European norms.

On Thursday, the European Commission announced that it had referred Hungary to the EU court over the government’s ‘Stop Soros’ laws (see BudaPost June 22, 2018). According to the EC, the legislation violates EU law by restricting the rights of asylum seekers and criminalizing support offered to them.

Magyar Nemzet’s Ferenc Kis interprets the EC’s decision as proof that ‘pro-migration international forces are not giving up, and do whatever they can to fight those nations that reject migration’. The pro-government commentator believes that the EC acts in violation of national sovereignty and democratic self-determination. He suspects that the final objective of the pro-migration groups is to tranform Hungary into what he calls a ‘mixed-population’ country. Kis contrasts this ‘Soros plan’ with the government’s efforts to boost the birthrate of Hungarian children through benefits targeting families in order to fight the demographic crisis while protecting national culture and traditions.

In Népszava, Róbert Friss thinks that the case is another chapter in the battle between the Hungarian government and the EU over European norms and democratic values. The left-wing columnist suggests that Hungary is in violation of basic European values, and therefore should be expelled from the EU.

Tags: EU, European Commission, infringement procedure, migration, Soros