9 September 2014. Punitive action taken by elements of the Hungarian police and state prosecutors against key civil society bodies has been strongly condemned by global civil society alliance, CIVICUS.
“The latest events in Hungary highlight a major set-back for due process and lead to serious questions about Hungarian democracy. The incoming European Commission must act to ensure that the core democratic principles of the Union are upheld,” said Dr Danny Sriskandarajah, Secretary-General of CIVICUS.
In the latest developments to restrict the activity of legitimate NGOs that receive funds from the Norwegian NGO Fund, police have raided offices of two key organisations: the Okotars Foundation and the Foundation for Development of Democratic Rights (DemNet). They are reported to have prevented staff from communicating or leaving the premises while the raids took place and to have searched the whole premises, ransacked files and taken laptops and servers.
“At its core the EU is based on democratic principles and the right to freedom of association; it cannot stand by and allow this type of activity to go unchallenged within the Union,” said Sriskandarajah.
These actions follow a series of measures to restrict the legitimate activity of organisations funded by the Norwegian government (EEA/Norway NGO Fund) to develop the skills needed for sustainable development, social justice and active citizenship. At the same time the Hungarian Prime Minister has explicitly spoken out against democratic values and has also acted to limit media freedom.
Boglarka Bata, Director of the Carpathian Foundation, a key partner of Okotars Foundation said: “This latest challenge claims to focus on allegations of inappropriate use of funds but the police action is very aggressive and seems to target the funds that were directed towards human rights and democracy activities.”
CIVICUS calls on the EU to consider the following steps:
1. Clear review mechanisms to analyse the democratic process in Hungary and ensure appropriate oversight over EEA grants;
2. Suspending access to European Structural Funds if Hungary is shown to be in breach of the EU's democratic principles;
3. Potentially applying wider economic restrictions.
ENDS