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HATC SAMPLE EDITION:
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21st May, 2025
European editors condemn bill on foreign funding
A group of 85 editors-in-chief and publishers from 22 countries have issued a joint statement denouncing Hungary’s proposed “transparency law,” warning that it endangers press freedom and democratic debate.
The declaration, co-ordinated by Veronika Munk, a founder of Telex, now a director with Slovak website Dennik N, has been signed by editors of leading outlets such as Britian’s The Guardian, Austria’s ORF, France’s Libération, and Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza.
The signatories pledged to publish the statement in 11 languages across their own publications to raise awareness of the law’s implications beyond Hungary.
The statement accuses the ruling Fidesz party of copying authoritarian tactics like those in Vladimir Putin’s Russia.
The bill, submitted on May 13, would allow authorities to target Hungarian media outlets and civil society groups receiving any foreign funding, including EU support.
The law will be enforced by the Sovereignty Protection Office, led by a figure who recently called on the public to boycott independent media.
This agency would compile a list of “problematic” organisations, with penalties including frozen bank accounts, mandatory asset declarations, and heavy fines.
The statement concludes by urging EU institutions and member states to act, as defending a free press is a shared European responsibility and the bill violates core EU treaties and fundamental rights.
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Sources regularly consulted, with abbreviations used in text: Népszabadság (N); Magyar Hírlap (MH); Világgazdaság (VG); Napi Gazdaság (NG); Magyar Nemzet (MN); Népszava (Nsz); Kossuth Rádió news (KR); nightly TV news (TV).
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