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| - The EU's top court on Thursday ruled that curbs imposed by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on foreign-funded NGOs violate European law. The European Commission referred Hungary to the court following the adoption in 2017 of a law that is one of many that the EU says do not meet the standards of European rule of law. "Hungary's restrictions on the funding of civil organisations by persons established outside that member state do not comply with the Union law," the Luxembourg-based European Court of Justice said in a statement. According to critics, this law targeted Hungarian-born US billionaire George Soros, who in 1984 created the Open Society Foundation, a harsh critic of Orban. The legislation in question requires certain categories of non-government organisations that receive more than 7.2 million Hungarian forints ($27,000) of foreign funding per year, to register as such and make the distinction public. In particular, they must publish the names of donors. If they do not comply with these obligations, they are subject to sanctions. Because it "establishes a difference in treatment between national and cross-border movements of capital", this law constitutes a restriction on the free movement of capital, the court said. It creates "a climate of mistrust towards the associations and foundations" targeted, it said, and may dissuade donors. The court rejected Hungary's arguments on transparency, holding that the restrictions apply indiscriminately and not only to organisations likely to have a significant influence on public debate. No NGOs were fined under the law but the ruling was called "very important for the whole of Hungarian society" by the Civilisation Coalition, an alliance of over 200 Hungarian NGOs. "The Hungarian government has been trying to ruin NGOs for years," said a statement from the group. It called on Orban's government to initiate the repeal of the law which is used to clamp down on NGOs alongside keeping lists of their staff, or organising police checks on them. "The government is given another chance to realise and recognise the everyday hard work of the NGOs that is done in order to make the world and Hungary a more liveable place," said the statement. "Hungary has always respected the decisions of the (court) in the past and will do so in the future," said Gergely Gulyas, a government minister. "The government still needs to examine the ruling in detail but it was heartening that the court agreed with the government's goal of increasing transparency at NGOs," Gulyas told media in Budapest. "So only the tools with which to achieve this need to be changed," he said. The decision is the latest clash between EU authorities and Budapest over topics including the perceived weakening of the rule of law and Orban's tough line against immigration. Last month, Hungary said it would close "transit zone" camps where hundreds of asylum seekers and migrants were held, following a ruling by the same EU court. mlp-arp-pmu/jsk/bp
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