Hungary broke EU law by taking radio station off air, top court rules
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Hungary infringed on several principles, including freedom of expression and information, the Court of Justice of the European Union said.
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: UNSPLASH
BUDAPEST – The EU’s top court ruled on Feb 26 that Hungary had violated the bloc’s law by forcing a leading independent radio station often critical of Prime Minister Viktor Orban off the air.
The nationalist leader – who is facing the toughest challenge to his 16-year rule in this April’s elections – has restricted civil rights, including by hampering the operations of independent media.
The Klubradio station has been forced to solely transmit online since 2021 after it lost a court appeal to keep its broadcast licence, with the European Commission launching a case against Hungary over the matter.
“In its judgment, the court upholds most of the commission’s complaints and finds that Hungary has failed to fulfil its obligations under EU law,” the Court of Justice of the European Union said in a statement.
Hungary infringed on several principles, including freedom of expression and information, it said.
It said that “infringements and defects attributed to Klubradio... relate either to minor inaccuracies of a formal nature or to aspects which, in themselves, should not make it impossible for a radio station to pursue its activities”.
Klubradio, which began broadcasting in the 1990s, had to fight a series of legal battles to stay on air soon after Mr Orban returned to power in 2010.
For several years, it operated on rolling short-term licences, which the station said made attracting advertisers difficult.
The powerful NMHH media regulator, whose heads are close to Mr Orban’s ruling Fidesz party, insists it is not politically driven, saying in 2020 that Klubradio repeatedly infringed administrative rules.
Under Mr Orban’s rule, most independent outlets have either gone out of business or been bought by government allies while receiving lucrative flows of state advertising funds.
State-run media outlets have meanwhile been accused of turning into government propaganda organs.
The opposition TISZA party has been leading polls ahead of the April 12 parliamentary elections against the backdrop of a stagnating economy and growing discontent with public services. AFP
