On 14 February 2025, Transparency International EU, RECLAIM, and 15 other civil society organisations sent a letter to the French government, asking it to join the European Commission’s case at the European Court of Justice against Hungary’s 2023 Sovereignty Protection Law.
This law is a dangerous addition to Viktor Orbán’s anti-democratic toolbox, designed to silence critical organisations in Hungary, such as Transparency International Hungary and the investigative journalism nonprofit Átlátszó. The government is using the SPO law to launch baseless attacks against civil society, attempting to discredit independent voices and stifle dissent. This law not only subjects individuals, journalists, civil society and opposition parties to surveillance but also lacks any mechanism for appealing investigations or seeking legal remedies, leaving them with no recourse against these oppressive actions. By undermining fundamental democratic rights, including freedom of expression, association, privacy, and non-discrimination, it poses a significant threat to democracy. No member state of the European Union should allow this to persist.
So far 15 EU Member States have joined the lawsuit—Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Germany, the Czech Republic, Poland, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Estonia, Lithuania, Ireland, Spain, Portugal—as well as the European Parliament. But we have failed to hear from France. The deadline to file the application to intervene is today. We urge France to step up and protect journalists and civil society actors across the European Union.
Read the full letter below.
