The 'NGOs case': on how to use the Charter of Fundamental Rights in infringement actions

In its ruling of June 2020, the Court of Justice found the Hungarian law on the transparency of civil society organizations to be in breach of several provisions of EU law, including most importantly three provisions of the Charter of Fundamental Rights: art. 12, protecting freedom of association, and arts. 7 and 8 on the protection of private life and personal data. While the Charter has been legally binding for now more than a decade, this was only the second instance in which the Court found a breach of the Charter in the context of an infringement action under art. 258 TFEU. This comment reflects on the applicability of the Charter in infringement actions, on the method to assess a breach of the Charter, and finally and more generally on the potential of art. 258 in addressing constitutional crises in the Member States.