An international controversy over nonprofits funded by progressive Hungarian-American billionaire George Soros has created a vulnerability in the NATO alliance, the State Department warned.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's spokesperson urged Hungarian leaders to scrap legislation mandating that Hungarian nonprofits supported by foreign contributors identify their donors. The bill is the latest development in nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban's ongoing campaign against Soros, but his domestic and international critics regard it also as a step toward Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"If signed into law, this would be another step away from Hungary's commitments to uphold the principles and values that are central to the [European Union] and NATO," State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said Monday.
Hungary joined NATO in 1999, when Orban was in the midst of a four-year run as prime minister. Since returning to the post in 2010 the midst of an economic crisis that required an international bailout, Orban has had a fraught relationship with the European Union. The 2015 refugee crisis created additional strain, and human rights groups criticized his efforts to constrict the flow of asylum-seekers into Hungary.
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http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/state-department-warns-hungary-anti-soros-law-another-step-away-from-nato/article/2626460Funny. I thought transparency was a value we favored. Knowing WHO is laying out cash for WHAT seems to be a fundamental requirement for democracy, no?
