The European Commission on October 3 said it was suing Hungary at the European Court of Justice over the so-called Defense of Sovereignty, a piece of legislation that critics say mirrors a similar Russian move that aims to silence government opponents.
The commission -- the European Union's executive arm -- said the law, under which a so-called Sovereignty Protection Office was established with the purported aim of defending Hungary's sovereignty against foreign influence, is in breach of EU legislation.
After Hungary's parliament, controlled by nationalist right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orban's Fidesz party, easily passed the bill, the commission in February opened an infringement procedure, saying it considered the legislation to violate the bloc's democratic values and fundamental rights.
"After carefully assessing the reply of the Hungarian authorities, the commission maintains that most of the grievances identified have still not been addressed," it said in a statement.
Under Orban, who has been in power since 2010 and has maintained a cozy relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, EU and NATO member Hungary has strengthened its ties with Russia and China while stifling media freedom and the rule of law, prompting Brussels to impose punitive measures on Budapest.
Hungary has repeatedly claimed that Brussels and Washington are funding domestic opposition groups in order to influence Hungarian voters.
The law was criticized by Western governments, rights groups, and media watchdogs as being modelled on Russia's "foreign agents" legislation used by the Kremlin over the past decade to stifle domestic criticism and persecute political opponents.
In November, Dunja Mijatovic, the Council of Europe's commissioner for human rights, urged Budapest to scrap the bill, saying it "poses a significant risk to human rights and should be abandoned."
In December, the Committee to Protect Journalists urged Hungary's president to refuse to sign the bill, saying in a statement that it "bears the hallmarks of a Russian-style foreign agent law and has no place in an EU member state."
In June, U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller on June 27 said Washington was "deeply concerned" by the Sovereignty Protection Office's "draconian actions" and that the law threatened the "human rights and fundamental freedoms" of Hungary's own citizens.
The European Court has the power to order a member country to comply with EU laws and impose penalties.