Lanczi: Hungary’s sovereignty under attack

Lanczi pointed to the establishment of “grey zones” in which organisations that do not define themselves as political, work against national sovereignty. He said information platforms run by multinational companies also presented a “serious challenge”.

He noted that countries had legislated sovereignty protection acts “one after the other”, with France passing a law most recently that was stricter than the one in Hungary.

Miklos Ligeti, the legal director of Transparency International Magyarorszag, highlighted the importance of the internal dimension of sovereignty, affecting citizens. He posed the question of whether a nation or its citizens were sovereign if their own elected government didn’t view them as partners.

“The current government in power in Hungary does not see the Hungarian people as a partner, and that is why the Hungarian people don’t possess the authority, the sovereignty necessary to call their own government to account regarding where the money is going and if it’s good for them,” he added.

Hungarian society isn’t in a position to get the information necessary to decide whether Hungary has become a better place since 2010, he said.