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Democracy Watchdog Asks Hungary Not to Adopt `Stop Soros' Law

Democracy Watchdog Asks Hungary Not to Adopt `Stop Soros' Law

(Bloomberg) -- The Venice Commission of the Council of Europe asked Hungary’s government on Monday not to adopt legislation designed to curtail the activities of NGOs deemed to be supporting illegal immigration.

Hungary should at least take into account the Commission’s preliminary recommendations before proceeding with the law dubbed "Stop Soros," Gianni Buquicchio, the commission’s president, told Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, according to an emailed statement.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban has made it a hallmark of his past eight years in office to defy such calls from organizations including the Council of Europe and the European Union, a separate institution. Orban has won votes by publicizing the conflict at home. The conservative government in Poland has become his chief international ally in the standoff.

To contact the reporter on this story: Andras Gergely in Budapest at agergely@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Scott Rose at rrose10@bloomberg.net, Marton Eder

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