On Sunday 26 November the spokesperson for the European External Action Service criticised Russian President Vladimir Putin's enactment of a law the previous day enabling the ministry of justice to label foreign media that receive foreign funding, (directly or indirectly) as "foreign agents".
The "foreign agent" legislation has been affecting NGOs since 2012 and "goes against Russia's human rights obligations and commitments", the EEAS spokesperson states in a press release. In the spokesperson's view, the extension of the scope of this legislation to foreign media "is a further threat to free and independent media and to access to information", and "yet another attempt to shrink the space for independent voices in Russia".
The foreign agent legislation was approved unanimously by the Russian Duma on 16 November (see EUROPE 11907) and by the Council of the Federation earlier in the week. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)