Orbán's party delays law to target foreign-funded groups

Hungary's ruling party has postponed a planned vote on draft legislation aimed at organisations that receive foreign funding, following weeks of protests and warnings that the law would "starve and strangle" civil society and independent media.

- Ashifa Kassam

Viktor Orbán's rightwing populist party, Fidesz, put forward legislation last month that would allow the government to monitor, penalise and potentially ban organisations that receive any sort of foreign funding, including donations or EU grants.

Any organisation could be targeted if it was deemed to "threaten the sovereignty of Hungary by using foreign funding to influence public life".

The parliamentary vote had been expected to take place this month. Despite critics likening the legislation to Russia's "foreign agent" law, it was forecast to be passed by parliament as Fidesz holds a two-thirds majority.