Hungarian minister calls for safeguards in contested transparency bill

By Gergely Szakacs

BUDAPEST (Reuters) -A Hungarian government minister said on Thursday that a new transparency bill targeting foreign-funded groups must not be used for political prosecution and should contain safeguards, highlighting differences within the ruling party over the plan.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban, in power since 2010, pledged in March to crack down on foreign funding of independent media, opposition politicians and NGOs.

The bill, submitted to parliament by Orban's nationalist Fidesz party on May 14, would draft a list of organisations that get foreign funding and restrict or even shut them down if deemed to threaten Hungary's sovereignty and its culture.

Critics say the bill aims to stifle political dissent ahead of a national election due in 2026 when Orban faces an unprecedented challenge from a new opposition party.

The bill has prompted street protests, while scores of editors from leading European news outlets signed a petition last month calling on Hungary to scrap the bill.

On Wednesday Fidesz unexpectedly postponed a parliamentary debate on the legislation and said a vote would not take place before the summer recess.

Regional Development Minister Tibor Navracsics said he backed the original purpose of the legislation to create transparency over the finances of groups influencing public discourse but voiced opposition to some provisions.

"If we must be drawing up a list (of organisations), then that must be as specific as possible, or the possibility of judicial recourse must be provided," Navracsics, a former justice minister, told the Otpontban political podcast.

Navracsics, a former European Commissioner, said he also opposed a proposal to strip targeted organisations of the right to receive voluntary income tax donations from the public.

Navracsics dismissed speculation that Orban would not contest the upcoming election as prime minister but he said the lavish lifestyle of some ruling party politicians and businessmen around Fidesz was "harmful".

"I do not know if this will be a decisive factor (in the election). However, from my own constituency I know there are indeed people irritated by such levels of wealth inequality," he said.

(Reporting by Anita Komuves and Gergely SzakacsEditing by Gareth Jones)