Nicușor Dan points to two “disproportionate” provisions in the project regarding the financing of NGOs: “A new source of tension in society”
President Nicușor Dan criticized the project regarding the transparency of NGO funding, stating that the obligation to make public the names of donors to non-governmental organizations “would inhibit the support” they receive and “would affect civil society as a whole”.
The head of state on Thursday conveyed “a principled position” on the draft law initiated by AUR MPs, which would oblige NGOs to declare and publish the source of all income. Organizations, which have criticized the initiative, risk suspension of activity and, subsequently, dissolution, if they do not comply with this obligation, according to the draft.
The draft law, initiated by AUR parliamentarians and also supported by SOS Romania, passed the Senate on May 18, and the Chamber of Deputies is the decision-making body.
Nicușor Dan “suggested” inviting “representative civil society organizations” to the debate in the Chamber of Deputies.
“Transparency before the state of any legal person, including NGOs, is necessary and is already being achieved, to a good extent. The addition of a summary of important donations to the annual reports represents an increase in transparency,” said the president.
On the other hand, he believes that “the obligation to make public the names of donors would be a measure that would inhibit the support of NGOs by citizens and thereby affect civil society as a whole.”
“Both this provision, as well as the one that provides for the legal dissolution of NGOs for not submitting declarations, are measures disproportionate to a socio-professional category and, through this, a new source of tension in our society”, concluded Nicușor Dan.
What the bill adopted by the Senate provides
If the bill were to become law in the form adopted by the Senate, NGOs would be obliged to annually submit to ANAF a declaration with the income and sources of financing from the previous year, including the identification data of the financiers. In the case of natural persons, identification is mandatory for donations greater than 5,000 lei, and in the case of legal persons regardless of the amount.
The declarations would be published on the ANAF website. For failure to comply with the obligations, the law provides as a sanction the automatic suspension of the activity of the NGO in question. The organization risks being dissolved if the situation is not remedied within a year.
