Transparency International: SPO violates law and undermines rule of law in Hungary

Transparency International strongly condemns the report prepared by the Office for the Protection of Sovereignty (SPO) of Hungary, considering it a document full of factual errors and serious distortions, aimed at discrediting the Budapest branch of the reputable international organization, according to a press release posted on the transparency.hu website. According to Transparency International, the report published by the SPO on October 14, 2024 violates not only the legal rules of operation of the public institution, but also the fundamental principles of the rule of law, being perceived as a political tool aimed at discrediting independent civil society organizations.

Transparency International emphasizes that the SPO published the report without complying with the legal provisions requiring that the investigated organizations have the opportunity to respond before publication. The 2023 Law on the Protection of Sovereignty stipulates that the SPO must send a draft report to the entity concerned, which has the right to make observations within 15 days, and the SPO is obliged to respond within 30 days. These steps were not respected, according to the cited source. Regarding the absurd statements and factual errors in the report, the international organization points out that one of them refers to the fact that it would have supported the Alliance of Free Democrats (SzDSz) in the 1994 elections - an impossible action, given that the organization was only established in 2006.

In the cited document, the SPO disputes the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), despite the fact that its methodology is public and has been confirmed as valid by the Joint Research Center of the European Commission. Transparency International points out that Fidesz, the ruling party, used the CPI to criticize previous governments, but began to attack this index when it came to reflect current government corruption.

The international organization also claims that the SPO would have sent the report to publications close to the government before its official publication. Thus, several articles in the pro-government press appeared based on the report, with the obvious aim of denigrating Transparency International, which is a premeditated move, designed to provide propaganda ammunition to discredit organizations that fight corruption. "The fact that the SPO included conspiracy theories about an alleged American influence and the role of György Soros denotes the political nature of the report," the press release issued by the cited source also states, which emphasizes that the SPO attacks fit into a broader context of democratic regression.

Therefore, Transparency International has filed a complaint with the Hungarian Constitutional Court against the Sovereignty Protection Act and is considering further legal actions to challenge the errors and unfounded allegations in the report. We recall that, at the European level, the European Commission has initiated infringement proceedings against Hungary, challenging the legality of the Sovereignty Protection Act and accusing it of violations of fundamental rights.