Would America Flunk by Brussels's Standards?

The European Commission is taking Hungary to court over the national law on the protection of sovereignty. The Commission maintains that the law violates norms of EU legislation. According to constitutional lawyer Zoltan Lomnici Jr., the US has stricter rules on sovereignty protection, so when Brussels attacks the Hungarian law, it is in fact also criticizing the US legislation.

European Union flags outside the European Commission building in Brussels (Photo: NurPhoto/AFP/Alberto Pezzali)

The Sovereignty Protection Office was established under the Sovereignty Protection Act and its main tasks include the investigation of specific activities serving the interests of other states or foreign entities and that may violate or even threaten Hungary's sovereignty. Investigations also cover foreign-backed organizations operating in Hungary whose activities may influence the outcome of democratic elections.

Zoltan Lomnici Jr (Photo: Szazadveg)

The law on the protection of sovereignty is in line with EU standards and is being challenged only for political reasons, constitutional lawyer Zoltan Lomnici Jr. said in response to a question from Magyar Nemzet.

The justification and necessity of Act LXXXVIII of 2023 on the protection of national sovereignty (Szvtv) and the Office for the Protection of Sovereignty (Office) is also declared in Article R, paragraph 4 of the Fundamental Law of Hungary (Fundamental Law), which states that the protection of Hungary's constitutional identity and Christian culture is the duty of all state organs. To protect the constitutional identity of Hungary, it operates as an independent body established by a cardinal law [requiring a two-thirds majority support],

the expert added.

The Fundamental Law states that the protection of our identity, as rooted in our historic constitution, is a fundamental duty of the state. The adoption of the Sovereignty Protection Act was therefore another important step in an organic legislative process, he pointed out.  "It is clear from the explanatory memorandum of the law that, based on recent experience, financial resources were clearly used by foreign principals to gain political influence and to influence the will of the Hungarian electorate, which not only amounts to political corruption, but also violates and endangers Hungary's sovereignty, the constitutional lawyer said, adding that

This serious threat includes the direct and indirect financial support and economic coercion of political actors, as well as the subversion of civil society functioning and the influence-amassing activities of international and supranational NGOs, as Hungary and the Hungarian government have already recognized in recent years.

The constitutional lawyer says it is becoming increasingly more common for a given party to receive significant foreign support not directly, but through NGOs, for example, which can be identified as a clear intervention. This is why the law states in its preamble that "although existing Hungarian law already prohibits parties from accepting foreign support", it is necessary to tighten the current legislation to prevent similar cases.

Regulation 2018/673 of the European Parliament and of the Council of Europe (EU, Euratom) provides for the importance of the principle of transparency in two points. According to Article 6 paragraph 3 of the Sovereignty Protection Act, the national sovereignty report shall be made public by June 30 each year. This ensures transparency and access to information. This is also in line with Article 42 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, which guarantees the right of access to documents.

 

Factually refutable claims

Claim: the law can be applied randomly to anyone. The National Assembly enacted the law to counter attempts to interfere with Hungary's sovereignty, so the law applies only to acts that threaten sovereignty or to the perpetrators of such acts. The law precisely defines who can be considered the perpetrator of such an offense - as is to be expected from the disposition of a criminal law norm within the framework of the rule of law, the constitutional lawyer explained.

The preamble of the Act also clearly defines the role and purpose of the law and of the Office tasked with investigating its enforcement,

the expert stressed.

Members vote in the Hungarian National Assembly (Photo: Anadolu/AFP/Arpad Kurucz)

Congruences between Hungarian and US legislation

Zoltan Lomnici Jr. also pointed out that the purpose of the sovereignty protection legislation is to help protect the country from external attack, including harmful external influence, but the Office for the Protection of the Constitution does not have powers of intelligence gathering, so it cannot, for example, conduct wiretapping, unlike the US Patriot Act, which is specifically aimed at preventing, detecting and prosecuting international money laundering and the financing of terrorism.

The US Patriot Act (PA) amends the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to authorize intelligence agencies to access certain business records for conducting foreign intelligence investigations, and also allow the government to surveil foreign individuals for national security purposes,

Mr Lomnici explained. The PA and the PAA provide protection primarily against terrorism, while the Hungarian Sovereignty Protection Act (Szvtv) protects Hungary's democratic processes and political system against foreign interference, he added.

View of the US Capitol Building in Washington DC (Photo: NurPhoto/AFP Jakub Porzycki)

However, taking into account the legal differences, it can be said that the US has stricter sovereignty protection rules, so when Brussels - driven by strong political motivations - attacks the Hungarian sovereignty protection law, it is in fact also expressing harsh criticisms of the US legislation,

the legal expert pointed out, also stressing that this is in part precisely why the law on the protection of sovereignty was drafted on the basis of international jurisprudence.

In France, the Haute Autorite pour la transparence de la vie publique (High Authority for Transparency in Public Life) was established in 2013, whose powers and responsibilities have been continually expanded, so that in 2016, through the Sapin II transparency law package, the French authority is now also tasked with reducing economic pressuring, lobbying activities and major corruption risks,

the constitutional lawyer summarized.

Cover photo: European Union flags outside the European Commission building in Brussels (Photo: NurPhoto/AFP/Alberto Pezzali)