Every Country Has the Right to Prevent Foreign Influence

Anyone gaining public power while being in someone's pocket endangers the country's sovereignty, the Fidesz parliamentary group leader pointed out on public radio's Sunday morning program.

Budapest, 2023. március 6. Kocsis Máté, a Fidesz frakcióvezetõje felszólal napirend elõtt az Országgyûlés plenáris ülésén 2023. március 6-án. MTI/Kovács Tamás Fotó: Kovács Tamás

Speaking about the bill on the protection of sovereignty submitted to parliament, Mate Kocsis said that the proposal was drafted in response to the Hungarian political Left financing their election campaign from foreign funds in 2022. This has not happened since 1990, and in fact an unwritten rule existed that campaigns cannot be financed from abroad, while for parties, receiving funds from abroad has been prohibited by law all along. This agreement and prohibition have been violated by the Left when they accepted money from abroad, circumventing the rules in place, he recalled.

The parliamentary group leader called it a sovereignty issue that politics should not be financed by foreign states, capitalist groups, corporate interest groups or the financial world. "If these groups attain influence in Hungary's public life, the country's sovereignty is endangered if anyone gains public power while being in someone's pocket," he pointed out. He expects that the Left will not support the proposal, Mate Kocsis added.

He highlighted that in the future

the same rigorous financial reporting and funding rules will apply to all nominating organizations and candidates running in an election.

Speaking about elements contained in the proposed package of laws, he said that a relevant amendment to the Fundamental Law in the first place will lay the foundation for the establishment of the Office for the Protection of Sovereignty. Secondly, an amendment to the criminal code will stipulate that anyone who uses illicit foreign funding in an election campaign can face up to three years in prison. Thirdly, the same rules will apply to all nominating organizations while the fourth part of the draft legislation concerns the setting up of the Office for the Protection of Sovereignty.

This office is to monitor all foreign interference attempts that threaten Hungary's sovereignty, Mate Kocsis pointed out. He added that the office will not have the powers of an authority, but it will have access to and can request a wide range of data and information, and will be mandated to initiate proceedings. It will be mainly tasked to monitor, detect and disclose to the public any interference attempts from abroad that may violate Hungary's sovereignty according to the provisions of the Fundamental Law.

 Mate Kocsis expects that the operation of the Office for the Protection of Sovereignty will come under serious attack, not only from the Hungarian Left, but also from "micro-donors" who sought to gain influence in Hungarian public life with money. He called it a widely-known fact in Hungarian domestic politics that speculators, billionaires and even certain agencies of foreign states interfere in Hungary's public life from abroad. Suffice to think of the fact that for a long time, more than fifty percent of the Hungarian media was financed from abroad, or how much so-called "civil" money NGOs receive from abroad.

What is at issue is not anyone financing media from abroad.  However, it is an issue if someone seeks to exercise public power and they or their organizations are funded from abroad,

the Fidesz parliamentary group leader explained the difference, adding that the laws will likely have sufficient deterrent power. However, he noted,

knowing the Hungarian Left and the financing system of the international Left, they will try to cheat all the rules in the future too.

Mate Kocsis expects the use of double standards against Hungary once again, with the liberal elite calling for "all kinds of procedures", but it is important to see that the Hungarian regulations will not be in any manner exceptional compared to those in other countries. In many EU member states there are rules in place to protect sovereignty, he noted.

"Like it or not, a country has the right, to prevent interference in its internal affairs by anyone, from anywhere, from the United States or Brussels, or from any corner in the world," said Mate Kocsis. He added that no one should buy Hungarian left-wing politicians or finance organizations that could be in a position to make decisions affecting the country, because this would violate Hungary's sovereignty.

The Fidesz parliamentary group leader stated that they are happy to participate in debates, they stand firm in their position, and will use all means to enforce everything contained in the law on the protection of sovereignty.

Cover photo: Mate Kocsis in parliament (Photo: MTI/Tamas Kovacs)