Fico said he respects people’s right to protest, but rejected the comparison with the Russian bill of the foreign agent.
“The bill concerning non -governmental organizations has nothing to do with Russian, American or Israeli law,” said Fico after a government meeting on Wednesday, adding that it is a “European law that was consulted”.
“They lacked things to protest, so now they invent another lie,” he added.
Stasselová said that the most dangerous aspect of the law is that it discredits NGOs that receive foreign funding in the eyes of the public.
“It stigmatizes and criminalizes NGOs that receive foreign funding, even if the funds come from the EU or from education support for education, environmental protection or anti-corruption efforts,” she said.
“The government would gain the power to interfere in their operations, impose fines or even close them,” she added.
Hungary adopted a similar law in 2017, but owed the repeal in 2023 after the Court of Justice of the European Union deemed it illegal.
The Right Nationalist Nationalist Party (SNS), which proposed the amendment, did not respond to a request for comments. The bill should be discussed in Parliament on April 9.
Politices
