Funding, "both domestic and foreign", of NGOs is an "important condition" for these "associations to exist and to exercise their functions and fulfil their missions in an independent way", the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe (CoE) stated in an opinion issued on 15 March.
This general opinion, requested by Thorbjørn Jagland, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, follows on from several others concerning decisions taken by Ukraine, Hungary (the 'Stop Soros' package, see EUROPE 12048/26) and Russia in order to discourage foreign funding for certain associations.
"The financing of terrorism and money laundering are the most common invoked motives used by governments," point out CoE constitutionalists, for whom the countries of Central and Eastern Europe have proven to be "sensitive" to external political influence. Nevertheless, they add, "any restrictions on freedom of association, including restrictions on foreign funding, can be considered as pursuing legitimate purposes, only if they aim to avert a real, and not only hypothetical, danger".
"In the fight against crime, priority should be given to already existing instruments (banking laws, anti-terror legislation)" and "State authorities should refrain from conducting negative campaigns against civil society organisations receiving foreign funding, such as portraying them as acting against the interest of the society", the experts conclude.
This advice could lead to a subsequent recommendation by the CoE Committee of Ministers. (Original version in French by Véronique Leblanc)