By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Legislators of the European Union prepared for an urgent debate on Hungary’s proposed new transparency law that they fear will lead to a Russia-style crackdown on critics by the “increasingly authoritarian” Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
The European Parliament’s plenary session in Brussels on Wednesday comes after Orbán threatened to “spring clean” the “insects,” including independent media and non-governmental organizations.
Parliament’s rapporteur for Hungary, legislator Tineke Strik of the Dutch Greens, confirmed, “At the opening of the agenda (of the plenary session) I will ask for a plenary debate.”
She added that she was “very confident that we will have a majority and so we will probably have a debate [Wednesday] at the end of the afternoon,” Strik told Euronews.
Tens of thousands of people protested over the weekend against Orbán’s so-called “transparency law,” which seeks to restrict foreign-funded media and rights groups.
And on Tuesday, over 80 editors from leading European news outlets signed a petition demanding the scrapping of the legislation
Critics explained that the “transparency law” is part of efforts to stifle criticism of the government and seems based on similar “foreign agent” legislation in Russia.
POPULIST LEADERS
The media petition’s signatories said the survival of a free press was both a domestic Hungarian and a European-wide issue, “especially in a region where an increasing number of populist leaders are adopting Viktor Orban’s methods.”
The petition was signed by 84 leading editors from newspapers, including The Guardian in Britain, Liberation in France, and Gazeta Wyborcza in Poland, to broadcasters ORF in Austria and other Central and Eastern European outlets.
They urged their respective governments and European Union institutions to work to prevent the law’s passage, saying it contradicted both EU treaties and the Charter of Fundamental Rights.
Hungarian lawmakers planned to debate the bill on Tuesday and vote on it in mid-June.
Approval is likely as Fidesz commands an absolute majority in parliament.
The legislation comes as Orbán, who has been ruling Hungary since 2010, prepares for difficult parliamentary elections next year.
Orbán faces an unprecedented challenge from Péter Magyar, whose Tisza party, named after Hungary’s second-largest river, is leading in opinion polls.
Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
More Worthy News
Romania faced more political turmoil Wednesday as a nationalist presidential candidate said he would contest Sunday’s election’s declared outcome.
Delaware Governor Matt Meyer signed the End-of-Life Options Act into law Tuesday, making the state the 11th in the U.S. to legalize physician-assisted suicide for terminally ill patients. Supporters call the measure a compassionate step toward honoring personal choice, while critics warn it opens the door to abuse and undermines the sanctity of life.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday accusing the City of Troy, Idaho, of religious discrimination over its denial of a land use permit to Christ Church, a small evangelical congregation.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned lawmakers Tuesday that Syria may be just weeks away from collapsing into a new civil war, citing fears that the fledgling transitional government in Damascus could soon fall apart without urgent international support.
Iran’s parliament on Wednesday ratified a sweeping 20-year strategic partnership with Russia, signaling a significant deepening of ties between the two heavily sanctioned nations.
Israel’s High Court of Justice ruled Wednesday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acted unlawfully in his effort to dismiss Shin Bet Director Ronen Bar, citing procedural violations and a conflict of interest tied to a corruption investigation involving Netanyahu’s close associates.
Oman’s foreign minister announced that a fifth round of indirect talks between Iran and the United States is set for Friday in Rome, continuing Oman’s quiet role as a mediator between the two rivals. The announcement, made on X, has yet to be confirmed by either Tehran or Washington.