Ireland has confirmed its intention to join a European Commission infringement case against Hungary at the Court of Justice of the European Union.
The case refers to Hungary's Sovereignty Protection Law, passed by the country's parliament in December 2023.
The law established a special government body, the Office for the Defence of Sovereignty (SPO), to investigate organisations and individuals whose activities receive foreign funding.
The SPO, whose president is nominated by Hungary’s Prime Minister and President for a six-year term, also has powers to investigate foreign funding for independent media in the country.
Hungary’s ruling Fidesz party has previously said that the law prevents political interference by foreign organisations.
However, critics have compared the legislation to Russia’s "foreign agent law", which requires institutions that receive foreign funding to register as so-called "foreign agents".
In a statement released to RTÉ News, Tánaiste Simon Harris said that Ireland has "consistently raised our concerns about Hungary’s Sovereignty Protection Law, and its negative impact on civil society space in Hungary".
Mr Harris said that Ireland has been in contact with other member states about the infringement case and that there is "an appetite for a significant number" of other member states to join the case.
The statement said that Ireland's Embassy in Budapest regularly engages and consults with Hungarian civil society.
Czech Republic became the first EU member state to join the case earlier this month.
An infringement procedure allows the commission to take formal action against an EU member state if it is suspected of breaching EU law.
The commission referred the case to the EU’s top court last October on the grounds that the Hungarian law contradicted the right to respect for private and family life, the freedom of expression and information, and the freedom of association, rights that are enshrined in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.
Both the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights have previously raised concerns about the law, the latter calling for its abandonment shortly before it was passed by the Hungarian parliament.
Ireland joined a separate European Commission infringement case in 2023 against Hungary in relation to the country’s Child Protection Law.
That law prohibits depictions of homosexuality and gender reassignment in media and educational content for minors. It has been widely criticised by NGOs as anti-LGBTQ.
