A Hungarian lawyer representing Ferenc Pál Biró, president of Hungary’s Integrity Authority, has sent a legal notice to the Brussels-based outlet EUalive, demanding the removal of an article, a public retraction and 5 million forints (about €14,000) in damages. The dispute centres on how EUalive summarised and contextualised prior reporting by the Hungarian investigative outlet Átlátszó regarding Mr Biró’s property.
“The amount demanded exceeds EUalive’s typical monthly operating budget and, if enforced, could force us into bankruptcy,” said Georgi Gotev, the outlet’s Brussels-based Bulgarian founder and editor.
The letter, dated May 5 and sent by Dr Balázs Lohn on behalf of Ferenc Pál Biró, president of Integritás Hatóság, Hungary’s Integrity Authority, concerns an article summarising reporting by EUalive’s Hungarian partner, investigative outlet Átlátszó.
The lawyer requested a retraction stating that Mr Biró had no ties to Mr Orbán’s political or business inner circle and that his home was not financed with public or European Union funds.
In the legal notice, the lawyer said the article created what he described as a misleading and defamatory impression by the way the property was presented, including through a headline used in the underlying material and its inclusion in a compilation with other public figures.
EUalive said the article relied on publicly available records and summarised reporting previously published by the investigative outlet Átlátszó. Gotev said the outlet had offered Biró an opportunity to respond and would include any response received. He added that EUalive is preparing its legal reply.
For smaller, donor-funded news organisations, legal disputes of this kind can carry significant financial implications. EUalive said it intends to continue reporting on matters it considers to be in the public interest.
Press-freedom organisations use the term Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation, or SLAPPs, to describe legal actions they believe place financial or operational pressure on journalists and civil society groups. No court has determined whether the present case falls within that category.
The dispute comes as European Union member states, including Hungary, face a May 7 deadline to implement the bloc’s Anti-SLAPP Directive — sometimes referred to as Daphne’s Law — aimed at curbing abusive cross-border litigation against journalists and civil society groups.
“The new government must prioritize implementing the Anti-SLAPP Directive,” said Antoinette Nikolova, director of the Balkan Free Media Initiative (BFMI). She said it is time for Hungary to stop using legal pressure against journalists reporting on powerful figures.
This article concerns a legal dispute over previously published reporting by EUalive. The matters described remain contested.