“The problem isn’t with the some 60 thousand civil organisations operating in Hungary, but with so-called NGOs, which are trying to prove that they are true civil organisations”, Government Spokesman Zoltán Kovács said in an interview for Hungarian daily Magyar Hírlap, who in addition to the planned new legislation on organisations that receive funding from abroad also spoke about border protection and the Hungarian legal action against the quota system.
Mr. Kovács pointed out that the new act on civil organisations is the transposition of existing United States legislation that has been in effect since the 1930s. “And in countries like Hungary that are much smaller and thus more vulnerable than the United States, the activities of such organisations represent a much greater danger”, the Government Spokesman said.
“These few dozen organisations are using foreign monies practically exclusively in the interests of changing the existing political framework”, he declared.
In the interview, Mr. Kovács also spoke about the fact that while previously these organisations were involved with the situation of Hungary’s Roma minority, their true topic has since become migration.
According to the Government Spokesman it is clear with relation to immigrations that “these organisations are working against existing Hungarian and EU legal frameworks using hundreds of millions in funding from Soros”.
“Political decision-making is the task of governments, the representatives elected by the people”, he declared, noting that nobody has ever elected NGOs, but they nevertheless want to assume this role.
In the interview, Mr. Kovács also spoke about the National Consultation and about the fact that border protection has already cost Hungary around eight to nine hundred million euros.
The Hungarian submission against the quota system, on which the European Court of Justice is expected to issue a ruling on 10 May, was also mentioned during the interview, with relation to which Mr. Kovács spoke about the fact that all signs indicate that a system is being developed that is fundamentally not aimed at protecting the borders, but which would instead like to institutionalise the framework for allowing the entry of illegal immigrants. “There is a true danger that they will try and push the legislation through before summer. This is what we are fighting against”, the Government Spokesman said.