WARSAW — Under intense political pressure and the threat of legal sanctions, George Soros’s Open Society Foundations said on Tuesday that it had become impossible to work in Hungary, whose prime minister has blamed Mr. Soros for the country’s problems, and that the foundations would move their operations to Berlin. 
 
 The foundations, which promote democracy, free expression and civil rights, have come under growing political and legal pressure from Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has stifled dissent and declared last week that “the era of liberal democracy is over.” The foundations have been a frequent target of the Hungarian government, and Mr. Orban himself has painted Mr. Soros as a shadowy figure seeking to undermine the country’s sovereignty. 
 
 “The government of Hungary has denigrated and misrepresented our work and repressed civil society for the sake of political gain, using tactics unprecedented in the history of the European Union,” Patrick Gaspard, president of the foundations, said on Tuesday. 
 
 The decision to close the groups’ offices in the country of Mr. Soros’s birth — they will continue to operate in many other countries — is the grim culmination of years of struggle to work in an increasingly hostile environment. Mr. Soros, 87, a Jew who survived the Nazi occupation of Budapest during World War II, later made a fortune in the financial markets, and he created the foundations and donated billions of dollars to them. 

 Image copyright Reuters Image caption Viktor Orban's election campaign vilified Mr Soros 
 
 The foundation of philanthropist George Soros has said it is closing its office in Hungary, blaming the move on an "increasingly repressive" environment. 
 
 Open Society Foundations (OSF), which funds non-governmental organisations (NGOs), says it will move its operation to the German capital, Berlin. 
 
 Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's right-wing government has said it plans to tighten restrictions on NGOs. 
 
 Re-elected last month, Mr Orban campaigned under a "Stop Soros" banner. 
 
 Mr Soros denies Mr Orban's accusation that his foundation is part of a plan to bring migrants to Europe in order to undermine nation states. 
 
 OSF has been under sustained verbal and legal attack by the Fidesz government for the past three years, the BBC's Nick Thorpe in Budapest reports. 
 
 Foundation president Patrick Gaspard said: "The government of Hungary has denigrated and misrepresented our work and repressed civil society for the sake of political gain, using tactics unprecedented in the history of the European Union." 
 
 He added: "It has become impossible to protect the security of our operations and our staff in Hungary from arbitrary government interference." 
 
 The government did not comment immediately on the decision. 
 
 What's the new law about? 
 
 The proposals, aimed at tightening rules for NGOs receiving funding from abroad, are based on national security concerns, the government says. 
 
 Fidesz officials and pro-government media accuse the groups of representing an unelected, meddling, liberal elite. 
 
 The measures include a 25% tax on foreign donations aimed at programmes supporting migration, security clearance for staff and a ban on any group deemed as a security risk. 
 
 Rights groups have denounced the law as a crackdown on critics of the government. 
 
 The legislation is expected to be one of the first laws passed by the new parliament in the coming weeks. 
 
 What does the foundation do? 
 
 Hungarian-born George Soros, 87, has spent $12bn (£9bn; €10bn), mostly through OSF, on civil initiatives to reduce poverty and increase transparency, and on scholarships and universities around the world, especially in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, since the 1980s. 
 
 Earlier this year, it emerged that the OSF had donated £400,000 ($540,000) to a campaign group fighting to keep the UK in the EU. 
 
 Soros initiatives usually have a strong human rights component, which have made him the bogeyman of many nationalist and illiberal governments. 
 
 This has seen him come up against Mr Orban, who has declared war on liberalism. 
 
 What does Orban say? 
 
 Mr Orban, 54, is a strong Eurosceptic who was re-elected for a third consecutive term in a landslide after campaigning on an anti-immigration platform. 
 
 He promised to defend the country's borders and block migration by Muslims and refused to take part in the EU's refugee resettlement programme, putting him in conflict with the rest of the bloc. 
 
 Image copyright EPA Image caption Mr Orban was re-elected for a third term in a landslide last month 
 
 On Monday Mr Orban said the "Stop Soros" package had been "one of the most important questions of the election", AFP news agency reports. 
 
 "Hungarians voted for it... what we said we would do, we will do," he said on a visit to Warsaw, 
 
 Before the election, Mr Soros was vilified by Fidesz with a poster campaign saying "Don't let Soros have the last laugh".
– One of Hungary's most famous native sons is at odds with the country's newly re-elected prime minister in a political fight that has international implications. The dispute between billionaire philanthropist George Soros and Prime Minister Viktor Orban escalated Tuesday when Soros announced that he was closing his Open Society Foundations offices in Hungary and moving them to Berlin. Soros blames the "repressive" policies of Orban, while Orban accuses Soros of trying to flood Hungary and the rest of Europe with immigrants to undermine governments. A look at what's going on: 'Stop Soros': Orban campaigned on a law known as "Stop Soros" designed to hobble non-government organizations such as the OSF, reports the BBC. Among other things, it would put a crippling 25% tax on foreign donations to programs designed to promote immigration. Surprising tie: Back in 1988, a young Orban applied for and received a scholarship from the Soros organization to study how countries make the transition from dictatorships to democracies, reports the New York Times. "One of the main elements of this transition can be the rebirth of civil society," he wrote. Critics say he's doing precisely the opposite as prime minister. "That past connection makes the current moment that much more remarkable," writes Marc Santora.