On 13 June 2017, Hungary’s Parliament adopted the Law on the Transparency of Organisations Supported from Abroad (i.e., foreign funded organisations), legislation widely viewed by intergovernmental and civil society organisations as a major obstacle to the work of Hungarian CSOs and their interactions with civil society domestically and internationally. Hungarian associations and foundations that receive funding from any foreign sources above 7,2 million HUF (approx. €23,500) in a tax year must notify the court to be registered as “organisation supported from abroad”. The organizations will be publicly labelled and burdened with additional reporting requirements on their foreign resources. Failure to comply with the law (e.g., to notify the court) will result in high fines and possibly termination. This is the first law of its kind in a European Union country. There is concern about what this new Law foreshadows: in other regions, similar laws have resulted in limited access to funding – not only because of the laws, but also due to parallel negative campaigns by governments, condemning foreign funding recipients. More information is available here.
Source: ECNL