The United States on Wednesday voiced alarm after Hungary passed laws to curb foreign influence, which critics fear will be used to curb dissent against nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government.
The United States is “concerned” with the laws that provide “draconian tools that can be used to intimidate and punish those with views not shared by the ruling party,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.
“This new law is inconsistent with our shared values of democracy, individual liberty and the rule of law,” he said.
The “Defense of National Sovereignty” package of laws sets up a new agency, its head appointed by the prime minister, tasked with investigating organizations that receive funding from abroad.
Any candidate standing for election who accepts foreign funding could face up to three years in prison.
The law has already been criticized by the US ambassador to Hungary and the Council of Europe, which warned of a “significant risk to human rights.”
Hungary is a member of the 27-nation European Union but Orban regularly clashes with fellow members on various issues including migration, independence of media and the courts, and LGBTQ rights.
Orban has won praise in the United States from nationalist right-wing supporters of former president Donald Trump.
