The Slovak government coalition wants to label the non-governmental sector financed from abroad

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Non-governmental organizations in Slovakia that are financed from abroad should now, with exceptions, also use the designation “organization with foreign support” in their name. This follows from the proposal for an amendment to the relevant law, which was approved by the Slovak Parliament today in the first reading by the votes of government deputies. The Chamber should make a final decision on the draft at its next meeting.

The opposition criticized the bill, and Vice-President of the European Commission Věra Jourová said during her visit to Bratislava last week that the law, if approved in the form presented, would be in conflict with European law. In the next key second reading, the House will still be able to modify the proposal through amendments.

The above-mentioned designation should be used by those associations in Slovakia that within one year receive from abroad or from another Slovak institution with the designation “organization with foreign support” contributions exceeding the amount of five thousand euros, which is approximately 126 thousand crowns. Money from European funds will not be included in this limit.

The proposal was submitted to the lower house by members of the ruling nationalist Slovak National Party, which is the smallest of the three parties in Prime Minister Robert Fico’s cabinet. The Slovak opposition, as well as Jourová, compared the draft to the Hungarian law from 2017, which introduced special requirements for non-governmental organizations financed from abroad. The Court of Justice of the EU then ruled in 2020 that this law is in conflict with European Union law.

Fico, the four-time prime minister, has been speaking against part of the non-governmental sector in Slovakia for a long time. Following the victory of his Social Democratic Direction (SD) party in last year’s parliamentary elections, Fico said the era of non-governmental organizations ruling the country was over. Some of the non-governmental organizations in the country have long drawn attention to missteps by authorities and institutions.