Over 200 NGOs warn Brussels against possible foreign interference law

A planned European Union directive to create a register for foreign-funded organisations could have “unintended consequences” and limit the bloc’s ability to support human rights defenders globally, scores of NGOs have warned in a joint statement to the European Commission.

Some 230 civil society organisations including Transparency International EU, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International signed the statement sent on Wednesday to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in which they lambasted the plans for a Foreign Interference Law.

The EU’s executive has not yet released any proposal to that effect but has reached out to civil society organisations in recent months with a call for evidence. 

According to NGOs contacted by the EU, the Commission argues that a new legal instrument is needed “to introduce common transparency and accountability standards for interest representation services paid for or directed from outside the EU, to contribute to the proper functioning of the internal market, and to protect the EU democratic sphere from covert outside interference”.

These NGOs warn however that it could embolden repressive leaders worldwide and undercut the EU’s credibility to speak out about restrictive laws in third countries.

They say, for instance, that such laws already rolled out in other countries have significantly curtailed the space for independent civil society and “been deployed as a tool to silence critical voices.”

“There are reasons why the Commission has criticised foreign agent acts abroad and why they took Hungary to court over a similar domestic law,” Nick Aiossa, Deputy Director and Head of Policy & Advocacy at Transparency International EU, said in a statement.

“It is simply reckless the Commission refuses to do their homework and fully assess the real risks this type of legislation poses to civil society and journalists,” he added.

Hungary’s introduction of a foreign interference law in 2017 requiring organisations that receive at least 7.2 million forints (€19,000) annually from foreign sources to register as such with the court and to produce an annual report on their foreign funding prompted the Commission to swiftly start an infringement procedure against the country.

First Vice-President Frans Timmermans said at the time that the law did not comply with EU law, which the Court of Justice of the European Union confirmed in a June 2020 ruling. 

More recently, plans by the government in Georgia to introduce such a “foreign influence” law were derailed in March after it sparked days of widespread protests across the country.

The law — modelled on a Russian version and which would have required any organisation that receives more than 20% of their funding from overseas to register as a “foreign agent” or face substantial fines — was denounced as a “very bad development for Georgia and its people” by the EU’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell.

In a statement issued after it passed its first reading in the Georgian parliament, the High Representative said the law as drafted could have a “chilling effect on civil society and media organisations”, that it was “incompatible with EU values and standards” and could thus lead to “serious repercussions” for EU-Georgia relations.

In their statement to von der Leyen, the NGOs demanded that the European Commission carry out an impact assessment before they release any proposal on an EU foreign interference law. These assessments are required before the Commission can put out any legislation expected to have significant economic, social or environmental impacts.

They also called for the Commission to clearly outline the legal case for this law, saying the call for evidence issued “fails to identify the specific need that new legislation would address and why an EU directive is a necessary or appropriate instrument.”

Euronews has reached out to the European Commission for comment but had not received any answer by the time of publication.