The Hungarian government will draft a bill to protect national sovereignty and, following the example of the new U.S. administration, will disclose foreign funding for Hungarian media, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
President Donald Trump's decision to freeze most funds paid by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) for 90 days and put most of its staff on leave, while simultaneously instructing billionaire Elon Musk to downsize the agency, has led to chaos at various NGOs and humanitarian projects around the world.
Trump's actions against USAID prompted Orban, a longtime Trump ally, to say on Feb. 7 that he wanted to eliminate all "foreign networks" of NGOs and media outlets that criticize his government.
"The corruption network that runs the entire Western world of politics and media must be eliminated", Orbán said today at the opening of the parliament session, adding that with the new laws his government would "reach the wall".
The Hungarian leader, who faces an unprecedented challenge to his rule from a new opposition party ahead of the 2026 elections, announced that he would crack down on NGOs and media outlets that have received funding from the United States and billionaire George Soros.
"We have abundant information about this, but we still have some gaps... We have discovered several channels through which they have poured hundreds of millions of forints into Hungarian media outlets and organizations," Orbán said.
"That is why I propose that parliament ... adopt laws needed to protect our sovereignty, which are still missing.“ He did not go into further detail about what the new legislation would include.