Sovereignty Protection Office: According to the public, there is no place for foreign majority ownership in strategic sectors

By: Trademagazin Date: 2026. 01. 02. 11:53

🎧 Hallgasd a cikket: Nyelv: Sebesség: 1.05×

According to the Hungarian population, there is no place for foreign majority ownership in strategic sectors – the Office for the Protection of Sovereignty (SZH) announced in a statement sent to MTI on Friday, based on the results of the latest public opinion poll commissioned by the Sovereignty Protection Research Institute.

As they wrote, the public opinion poll commissioned by the Sovereignty Protection Research Institute shows that the most basic sectors (such as the food industry, retail, energy sector) should be kept in domestic hands, while foreign majority ownership poses a sovereignty risk.

Society realistically assesses the threats to economic sovereignty, national ownership strengthens Hungary’s resilience, while foreign strategic influence increases vulnerability in the sectors that most determine people’s everyday lives, they added.

The statement includes: the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) – as the Office for the Protection of Sovereignty has previously pointed out – has identified the creation of economic coercion as one of the most common channels of foreign influence. Foreign actors – through direct investments – can establish a strong dependency relationship in strategic sectors, state-owned enterprises and the operation of critical infrastructure in order to have a negative impact on the targeted country.

It was stated that the public is aware of the risks associated with foreign economic influence and views Hungarian ownership of critical infrastructure as one of the foundations for preserving sovereignty.

Accordingly, the overwhelming majority of those surveyed see a need for domestic majority ownership in the food industry (85 percent), retail trade (81 percent), energy sector (80 percent), construction industry (78 percent) and financial sector (70 percent). Respondents would also like to see a high proportion of Hungarian ownership of the military industry, the aviation sector, the telecommunications sector, and the media.

They wrote that in order to avoid our country’s vulnerability, it is essential that the interests of the Hungarian population prevail in key sectors instead of the considerations of foreign political and economic interest groups.