Hungary's Orban says US funding to NGOs and media must be revealed

By Krisztina Than and Anita Komuves

BUDAPEST (Reuters) -Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Friday Hungary would take steps to ensure all aid funding coming from the United States to NGOs and media critical of the government is revealed, saying the time had come to "eliminate these foreign networks".

Orban, a nationalist and long-time ally of President Donald Trump who faces an election next year, was referring partly to funding from U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) programmes.

USAID distributes billions of dollars of humanitarian aid around the world, but Trump has ordered a freeze on most U.S. foreign aid and tasked billionaire Elon Musk with scaling down the agency.

Orban said organisations in Hungary that have been recipients of foreign funds, including USAID money, must face "legal consequences" and must be squeezed out as they pose a threat to the central European country's sovereignty.

"In America we would call them agents, as they do not serve their own country but accept money from another power," Orban told state radio. "We don't call them agents...but these are people and organisations paid from abroad whose job is to overthrow the Hungarian government."

Orban made his comments as he steps up his Fidesz party's campaign before the parliamentary election due in early 2026, when he is set to face a tough challenge from a new opposition party, with the economy shaky.

Orban, who has been in power in the EU and NATO member state since 2010, pushed through a law in late 2023 to create the Sovereignty Protection Office, an authority to explore and monitor risks of "political interference" in Hungary.

He has repeatedly expressed concern about funding from abroad for organisations critical of his government, and has frequently taken aim at Hungarian-born U.S. billionaire George Soros and his liberal views.

"We are talking about a dark thing here...Brussels, the Soros foundation, the U.S. budget, they have channeled big amounts of money with a political purpose into the political life of certain countries," he said, referring to Slovakia and Serbia, where governments have faced recent protests.

"So that everyone understands: they must be swept out, this must be stopped now that the U.S. President has taken action. When, if not now?"

The 2023 sovereignty law, which has been criticised by EU leaders, the U.S. and several international organisations, bans foreign financing for parties or groups running for election and carries punishments of up to three years in prison.

The EU executive, the European Commission, launched an infringement procedure over the law in February 2024, citing its potential to undermine the bloc's democratic values and fundamental rights.

The EU has suspended billions of euros of funding to Hungary over a rule-of-law dispute during Orban's tenure.

He has appealed to conservative voters by portraying himself as a defender of interests and his government has denied accusations of undermining democracy in Hungary.

(Reporting by Krisztina Than and Anita Komuves; Editing by Toby Chopra and Timothy Heritage)