In a vote of 135 in favour, 44 against, and 6 abstentions, the National Assembly of Hungary voted to abolish the Sovereignty Protection Office, created by the Orbán administration in February 2024, on Tuesday, 30 June. Members of the Tisza supermajority faction voted in favour of its dismantlement.
The Office was originally tasked with preventing the spread of foreign influence in Hungarian politics, by forcing media outlets and civil organization to disclose funding coming from foreign nations. At the time, it was decried by left-wing media in Hungary as authoritarian and against press freedom, given that a significant portion of their funding came from foreign NGOs.
The government body has been headed by Chairman Tamás Lánczi, a political scientist, since its inception.
However, in their inquiry, the MPs for Prime Minister Péter Magyar of Hungary’s Tisza Party found that the Sovereignty Protection Office ‘served no actual public good’ and it was created ‘solely for political reasons and interests’.
The law mandating the dismantlement of the Office will take effect 15 days after its passing, upon which it will cease to exist and its appointed members will lose their positions, and all of its ongoing investigations will case as well. In addition, Chairman Lánczi will be required to submit an asset disclosure.
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