"We will scrap the sovereignty protection sham office, which has been used as a political cudgel and worked as a payment point, with no delay," Magyar said.

Magyar said the move would save the central budget six billion forints (EUR 27m) a year. The prime minister-elect had referred to the office several times before, on one occasion in 2025, he said if his Tisza Party won the next election, the new government would "sow its place with salt".

The Sovereignty Protection Office was set up in February 2024, with political scientist Tamas Lanczi as its head. Under the relevant law, the office was to "protect Hungary's political, economic and cultural self-determination" and to "call political decision-makers' attention to foreign influencing attempts".

In reaction to Magyar's announcement, Lanczi said on Facebook that closing the office "will not make the phenomena its has revealed disappear … foreign political influencing and attempts to force a foreign will on the Hungarian government and society will stay."

He also suggested that his authority had been "a source of danger" for "all those that do not view Hungary as a sovereign state."

MTI Stock Photo

Source: MTI – Hungary’s national news agency since 1881. While MTI articles are usually factual, some may contain political bias, and readers should be aware that such content does not reflect the position of XpatLoop, which is neutral and independent.

Since the goal of XpatLoop is to keep readers well briefed, right across the spectrum of opinions, MTI items are shared to ensure readers are aware of all narratives within the local media.

XpatLoop believes in empowering readers to form their own views through complete and comprehensive coverage. To facilitate this XpatLoop has a balanced range of news partners, as you can see when you surf around XpatLoop.com

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