The EU said it was referring Hungary to the European Court of Justice over laws passed by Budapest to curb foreign influence in the country, which critics say aim to silence government opponents, writes France24.

The European Commission said the legislation passed last year by Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s nationalist government violated fundamental rights and other regulations.

“The European Commission decided to refer Hungary to the Court of Justice because it considers its national law on the “Defence of Sovereignty” to be in breach of EU law”, - the EU’s top executive body said.

Hungary’s laws criminalise foreign funding of election campaigns and establish a new Sovereignty Protection Office that has broad investigative powers. The commission said the wide discretion granted to the new office disproportionately affected civil society organisations, media outlets and journalists.

The court referral comes after the commission twice wrote to Budapest, first to air its concerns and then to ask for them to be addressed – but was rebuffed. The court can order a country to comply with EU laws and impose penalties. The move is likely to further raise tensions between the European Union and Orban, who is frequently at loggerheads with Brussels.

Budapest regularly claims that the EU and other countries, in particular the United States, back domestic opposition groups with funding to influence voters in Hungary.