Hungary outlines 'Stop Soros' legislation aimed at halting illegal immigration it blames on the liberal US billionaire

  • The government says the measures are vital to preserve Hungarian society 
  • They include mandatory registration of NGOs that 'support illegal immigration'
  • Critics say the legislation is profoundly undemocratic and illiberal
  • Prime Minister Viktor Orban and George Soros are bitterly divided  

Hungary has introduced new laws which it says will penalise groups that receive foreign funding to aid illegal immigration.

The government has dubbed the new legislation the 'Stop Soros' laws, because it blames Hungarian-American billionaire and philanthropist George Soros for Europe's migration challenges - in part because of his funding of groups that support the rights of refugees.

The country's right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orban has been embroiled in an escalating feud with his former friend Soros, who has described a prolonged Hungarian government campaign against him as 'distortions and lies' designed to create a false external enemy.

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George Soros (left) is accused of funding migrant advocacy groups that undermine Hungarian society. Prime Minister Viktor Orban's (right) government has outlined its new 'Stop Soros' laws

Hungary has implemented measures to stop the 'migrant invasion' with razor-wire fences on its borders. Pictured: Women queue to receive food at a migrant camp situated on the Serbia-Hungary border in Horgos on July 8, 2016

Hungary has implemented measures to stop the 'migrant invasion' with razor-wire fences on its borders. Pictured: Women queue to receive food at a migrant camp situated on the Serbia-Hungary border in Horgos on July 8, 2016

Orban is expected to secure a third straight term in a general election due on 8 April.

Who is George Soros?

George Soros testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington (November 2008)

George Soros testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington (November 2008)


George Soros, 86, is a renowned hedge fund manager, investing heavyweight and philantrophist.

He channels his cash through Soros Fund Management, his family office that boasts $26 billion in assets, according to Forbes.

Born in Hungary, he fled the country and attended the London School of Economics by working as a railway porter and waiter.

A passionate supporter of liberal causes, Soros founded the Open Society Foundations (OSF). It has had expenditures of nearly $14 billion and is active in more than 100 countries, supporting civil groups in Eastern Europe and the Balkans since the mid-1980s. Many people now in the Hungarian government received OSF cash when they were in opposition. 

Groups funded by Soros - a Jew - have been accused of arranging anti-government protests in Poland, and of orchestrating anti-corruption campaigns in other European countries including Romania, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic to undermine elected officials.

Mr Soros has also been targeted by Donald Trump during his election campaign in 2016. In it Trump was criticised for repeating anti-Semitic conspiracy theories about Jews and 'global special interests'.

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The 'Stop Soros' laws include mandatory registration of some non-government organisations that 'support illegal immigration', officials say. 

A 25 percent tax would be imposed on foreign donations that NGOs collect, and activists could face restraining orders that preclude them from approaching the EU's external borders in Hungary. Furthermore third-country nationals could also be subject to a restraining order anywhere within the country.

Exact details are not clear because the bills will only be published and submitted for public debate on Thursday. But pro-government media reported that they could result in a ban on Soros - who has U.S. and Hungarian citizenship - from entering the country. 

Critics say that the government is undermining democracy and returning to Hungary's totalitarian past by its uncompromising stance against non-government organisations.  

They say the latest moves - and earlier measures that required NGO leaders to declare their assets - appear to be based on recent Russian and Israeli initiatives to curtail civil society.

The Soros-funded Open Society Foundations (OSF) argues that its work in Hungary is entirely benevolent - it says that it has awarded 3,000 scholarships to Hungarian students including Mr Orban himself.

The OSF says that it is working to establish fairer, more accountable societies and on working with local groups to strengthen democratic practices.   

The government insists the new laws will not affect religious charity groups or the Red Cross, which distribute food, medicines and other aid to migrants.

'Giving assistance is not the same as actively ... taking part in someone crossing the border illegally,' government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs said.

Orban is a staunch opponent of immigration, especially by Muslims, and Hungary built long fences along its southern borders in late 2015 to stop the flow of migrants.

Last month the European Commission said it was suing  Hungary - along with the Czech Republic and Poland - at the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for refusing to take in asylum seekers. 

The European Commission last month said it was suing Hungary - along with the Czech Republic and Poland - at the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for refusing to take in asylum seekers. Pictured: A young migrant boy waits in front of the Hungarian border fence at the Tompa border station transit zone on April 6, 2017

The European Commission last month said it was suing Hungary - along with the Czech Republic and Poland - at the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for refusing to take in asylum seekers. Pictured: A young migrant boy waits in front of the Hungarian border fence at the Tompa border station transit zone on April 6, 2017

Hungary's right-wing prime minister Viktor Orban casts his vote - in April 2017 - on a bill tightening regulations on foreign universities operating in Hungary, effectively pushing out of the country Central European University, a school founded by Soros

Hungary's right-wing prime minister Viktor Orban casts his vote - in April 2017 - on a bill tightening regulations on foreign universities operating in Hungary, effectively pushing out of the country Central European University, a school founded by Soros