At a hearing before the LIBE (Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs) committee of the European Parliament on February 27, the Hungarian minister of justice, László Trócsányi, representing the Hungarian government, said: "There is no need to worry about the future situation of NGOs, as the legislative proposal concerns only the requirement to register at the courts how much money these organizations receive from abroad."

The minister also confirmed on behalf of the government its commitment to communicate with civil organizations, saying the government is always open to enter into such dialogue.

Make it public

The HCLU maintains that in order to start a dialogue, the proposal must be made public, setting a deadline that leaves enough time to civil actors to familiarize themselves with its content and formulate their position on it, so that everyone has a chance to send their opinion to the government.

Negotiations can fulfill their function only when these opinions are met with detailed and professionally justified responses, and personal consultations take place so as to discuss any contentious issues.

The Hungarian Civil Liberties Union points out that members of the Hungarian government and representatives of the governing party voiced various, differently tempered declarations concerning NGOs and the proposed legislation.

A common feature of these statements was that they proposed the disclosure of many data that are already made available.

For instance, in 2015 HCLU and other organizations prepared a comprehensive summary on the transparency of civil organizations, the findings of which are still valid.

Mind on the money

According to the Hungarian rules, civil organizations, whether they are public-benefit purpose or not, are obliged to produce yearly reports on their activities and financial and income situation.

A part of this report is an annex on public-benefit purpose, including the amount of allowances provided to leading officials as well as the designation of supporters and sources in case of all support programs.

As for these sources, it must be indicated whether financial support comes from the central budget, municipal budget, international source or some other economic entity.