The Law on Non-Governmental Organizations passed the first reading | iRADIO

The full adoption of the law would affect all organizations that have contributions from abroad of at least 5,000 euros per year (that’s about 125,000 crowns). They would have to state this in all their activities, so in their publications, on leaflets, in media appearances and so on. Prime Minister Fico originally wanted to enforce the label foreign agent.

The chairman of the Slovak National Party, Andrej Danko, also agreed with this, saying a few days ago that the designation foreign agent could still make it into the final form of the law during amendments in the parliament.

Canceled due to error

Organizations would also have to disclose information about their donors, contributors or creditors. The proposal from the SNS workshop also assumes that the Ministry of the Interior could cancel those organizations that somehow do not comply with the given rules, for example by making an administrative error in their annual report.

So far, the non-governmental sector is mainly trying to defend itself by saying that the changes contradict the laws of the European Union. According to them, this is a violation of the right to association. The organization VIA IURIS, which is dedicated to the protection of human rights, called the proposal shameful on Tuesday after it was approved in the first reading and reminded that non-governmental organizations are already controlled more strictly than, for example, political parties.

At 40 conservation organizations, the proposal of the Slovak National Party was described as an attempt at stigmatization and bullying, which violates the foundations of a democratic society and is in conflict with the constitution. It can therefore be expected that a possible approval in the parliament will be followed by legal proceedings. The opposition party Progressive Slovakia already announced on Tuesday that it would eventually turn to the Constitutional Court.

‘Political outsiders’

The law is also intended to be primarily directed against non-governmental organizations that are dedicated to corruption or uncovering political cases. The coalition has long termed them as “non-governmental political organizations” and claims that through them foreign actors interfere in Slovak politics. Shortly after winning the parliamentary elections, Prime Minister Robert Fico declared that the era in which non-governmental organizations ruled was over in Slovakia, and especially Smér and SNS waged a verbal conflict with organizations critical of the exercise of power.

The coalition explains the proposal by the need for greater transparency, but it is written in such a way that it would affect not only “non-governmental organizations”, but also various civic associations, sports clubs, educational or social organizations, churches, conservationists and so on.

A similar law also applies in Russia, where it talks directly about foreign agents. It has been in effect since 2012 and is much stricter than the proposed Slovak regulation. It also applies to the media. For example, it significantly limits their income through advertising control.

Compared to the Hungarian draft, the Slovak draft is stricter. In Hungary, the limit of how much money an organization can receive from abroad was set much higher. In 2020, the European Court of Justice ruled that the law was not in accordance with European legislation, as it violated the right to free movement of capital.

It is similar in Georgia, from the point of view that the proposal is stricter in Slovakia. In Georgia, the public is now protesting against this “Russian law”, as the protesters call it. And in Georgia, unlike in Slovakia, it is not expected, for example, that the government could arbitrarily cancel organizations.

Ladislav Novák, spring

Share on Facebook

Share on Twitter

Share on LinkedIn

Print

Copy the url address

Abbreviated address





Copy to clipboard

Close