The European Union is drafting a law that would oblige non-governmental organizations, consulting companies and academic institutions to disclose any funding from outside the EU as part of the fight against foreign influence in the bloc.
About this, as he writesEuropean truth“, according to the publication Politico with reference to three informed interlocutors.
The document is expected to be developed by analogy with the laws in Australia and the United States. It most likely will not provide for restrictions on individuals, but all profitable and non-profit organizations will be required to disclose sources of income from outside the EU.
One of the officials of the European Commission, on condition of anonymity, said that the project should be completed at the end of May 2023. It should be a response to a number of operations of foreign influence – from Russian hacking campaigns to, for example, “Katargate” – a corruption scandal in the European Parliament.
The European Commission has already sent out a questionnaire to some non-governmental organizations, which should form the basis for the assessment of foreign influence, which is due to be completed in April as part of the preparation of a draft EU law.
The questionnaire already asks respondents to describe in detail sources of funding from outside the EU. Some of them expressed concern that the bill could be used by autocrats in the EU, such as Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, to suppress pro-democracy forces in their countries.
There was also criticism that the proposal is being developed in parallel with the events in Georgia, where days of protests erupted due to a similar intention of the authorities – they eventually culminated in the withdrawal of bills.
“Obviously this is a sensitive issue. We are still in the early stages of gathering information from a wide range of stakeholders to make sure we are taking the right approach,” a European Commission spokesman told Politico.
In this regard, the European Commissioner for Values and Transparency Vera Yurova will hold a series of meetings with representatives of civil society in the EU this week.
