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Vsquare: Orbán plans crackdown on NGOs and news outlets that receive foreign funds
Viktor Orbán has ordered Hungary’s central intelligence agency to compile a list of NGOs and media outlets that have received foreign funding over the past decade, Vsquare reports. The directive, given to the National Information Center (NIC), comes after a chilling speech in which Orbán vowed to “dismantle the financial machinery” behind what he described as “politicians, judges, journalists, fake NGOs, and political activists”. It follows an earlier February statement from the Hungarian PM to achieve “full elimination of the Soros network”. It signals a dangerous escalation in the government’s further crackdown on independent civil society and press freedom.
According to Vquare's Goulash newsletter, the decision does not apply to Chinese- or Russian-linked organizations but is instead focused on human rights groups and independent news outlets that have received support from the U.S. or European donors. While Hungary’s use of Pegasus spyware against journalists has previously been documented, this marks the first time Orbán’s government has openly tasked national security agencies with identifying and listing perceived foreign-backed ‘enemies.’ The fate of this intelligence report remains uncertain — but critics fear it could be used to justify further legal harassment and orchestrated smear campaigns.
Orbán: The cleanup our friends are doing in America is also needed in Brussels
For the second time, Viktor Orbán presented the Hunyadi Prize: the 20,000 euro prize, established in 2023 by the Civic Hungary Foundation, the house foundation of Fidesz, was awarded this year to the far-right Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, 444 reports.
Orbán began the award ceremony by recalling that Salvini was threatened with prison, but they said that he deserved "not to be punished but to be honored for what he had done". He added that the court acquitted him and that the trial was "all false accusations, a witch-hunt for political purposes".
Orbán then drew a parallel between Hunyadi and Salvini, saying that in the 15th century, the Hungarian army defended Europe in the same way that the Salvini family defended Europe with their anti-immigrant measures. "Europe today is flooded by unprecedented numbers", with 9 million illegal refugees arriving in Europe since 2015. Orbán revisited the Great Replacement Theory, a conspiracy theory he previously cited during his speeches, saying the refugee crisis was "a huge mass, essentially a total population exchange".
He went on to say that the era of progressive liberalism in Brussels was over, "Europe needs a new patriotic leadership, the cleanup our friends are doing in America will also be needed in Brussels".
Orban vetoes joint EU declaration on Ukraine again
Orbán kept the promise he made two weeks ago and vetoed the joint declaration on Ukraine at the EU summit. The Heads of State and Government, representing the remaining 26 states, have issued their conclusions on Ukraine in a separate document.
The member states reiterated their financial and armed support for Ukraine's war of defense and its accession to the EU. The latter is problematic because accession negotiations can only move forward with unanimity. This is still blocked by the Hungarian veto. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky joined the meeting by video call.