1) The EU Commission should use every chance it gets to enforce rules that protect democracy, including by using rules that might seem unrelated to democracy (here data protection, internal market and Charter). Sadly, the Commission usually shies away from such opportunities.

2) Rights and democracy groups that sustain participatory democracy are under attack and they need support. The European Court of Justice ruling exposes real purpose of the Hungarian law: strangle public debate and criticism by destroying reputation and finances of independent organisations.

3) The Commission can't leave everything to the European Court of Justice. This law was one among many measures designed to cripple democracy. The ECJ judgments are like garden shears: capable of pruning ill-formed laws. Shears are no good against Orban's deliberate strategy of democratic rot.

The European Union needs tools and courage to address the bigger picture: regular monitoring and follow up through the Democracy, Rule of Law, and Fundamental Rights Pact; Rule of Law Conditionality and adequate funding for NGOs under the Rights & Values programme as suggested by the European Parliament.

Read the press release of the Court of Justice of the European Union

Media coverage

FAZ Ungarisches NGO-Gesetz verstößt gegen EU-Recht

Politico EU top court strikes down Hungarian NGO law

Dnevik Madžarska zakonodaja o nevladnih organizacijah krši pravo EU

Süddeutsche Zeitung Ungarisches NGO-Gesetz verstößt gegen EU-Recht