MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th May, 2023) The European Union's foreign agents law, which will force non-governmental organizations (NGOs), consultancies and academic institutions to disclose data on non-EU funding in a bid to combat foreign influence within the bloc, will include safeguards to minimize the risk the legislation could pose to civil society institutions in several EU states, European Commission Vice-President for Values and Transparency Vera Jourova said on Wednesday.
"We have to be able to predict the worse. Therefore, we are embodying a lot of concrete safeguards, so this law cannot be abused by some EU governments," Jourova said during an online event, adding that the legislation will include provisions to prevent it from going beyond set limits.
The vice-president noted that the commission is expected to propose a new "Defence of Democracy Package" in June, which will include a series of reforms to improve transparency in EU institutions and fight foreign interference.
Jourova added that she was surprised to hear that the bill was compared to similar laws in Australia and the United States, Russia and Georgia.
"We are not creating a system where we will label somebody, we will not plan any criminal sanctions like we can see in the United States or Australia against civil entities, we are not going to stigmatize anyone," Jourova said.
She went on to say that EU institutions should announce that they have been contacted by a third country to provide a service in the bloc, adding that the commission does not "differentiate between good and bad countries," so its ideology is "totally neutral."
However, EU civil society groups urged the European Commission in a letter published on May 3 not to propose new rules. More than 200 civil society organizations that signed the petition warned that similar laws have "significantly curtailed" the space for independent civil society and have been used as a tool to "silence critical voices".
Media reported in March that the EU version of the legislation was unlikely to target individuals, but would force both commercial and nonprofit organizations across the bloc to disclose non-EU funding, including payments for academic studies.
Politico reported that some NGOs expressed concern that if Europe created its own version of the US Foreign Agents Registration Act, in place since 1938, it could be "weaponized" by some politicians, such as Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, to suppress pro-democracy forces in their country.
