Slovakia tightens rules for non-profits in move they see as inspired by Russia
April 16 (Reuters) - The Slovak parliament approved a law on Wednesday tightening reporting and other requirements for non-governmental organisations, changes those organisations called "Russian law" in which the government was settling scores with critics from the civil sector.
The law orders non-governmental organisations to detail their donors and publish wide lists of officials, and introduces fines for administrative errors.
The government, led by pro-Russian Prime Minister Robert Fico, has long accused non-governmental organisations of supporting the liberal opposition and foreign interests, taking aim at those getting funding from a foundation set up by U.S. philanthropist George Soros.
In the sharply polarised Slovak society, Fico blamed civic organisations for planning to escalate peaceful public protests against his government's policies, a charge they denied.
"Non-governmental organisations are a grey zone, they do politics, draw money from around the world and no one knows what they do with it," ruling party SMER-SSD Richard Glück told a news conference on Monday.
Fico's party had originally planned more far-reaching changes, including labelling non-government organisations as "organisations with foreign support" like those in Russia or Georgia, provoking a warning from the European Commission.
Other changes, including labelling non-profits meeting officials as lobbyists and allowing the interior ministry to dissolve them for administrative errors, were blocked on Wednesday by Fico's allies in parliament.
Non-governmental organisations have said the law was meant to intimidate, could breach constitutional rights and went against rulings by Europe's Court of Justice.
"We call it a Russian law not because it is a copy of the Russian one but it was inspired by Russia and in variety with the constitution and EU law," said Katarina Batkova, director of Via Iuris, an organisation dealing with human rights.
"The proposed measures have clear aim: stigmatisation and limiting activities of civil organisations," she told Reuters by telephone.
The country's public rights defender Robert Dobrovodsky and Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Michael O'Flaherty have written to parliamentarians to reconsider the law.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Spectator
4 hours ago
- Spectator
Why the Kerch bridge must fall
Vladimir Putin has hit back against Ukraine's 'Spiderweb' operation, which recently destroyed or damaged at least two dozen Russian bombers. Overnight, Russia fired 45 missiles and more than 400 drones at Ukrainian cities and apartment blocks. At least six people were killed, including three rescuers searching for survivors in Kyiv. More than a hundred civilians were injured across the country. Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, claimed the mass attack on 'military targets' was a response to the 'terrorist acts of the Kyiv regime'. But Ukraine is far from done; the Kerch bridge, which links the occupied Crimea to the Russian mainland, is high on the hit list. This week, the Ukrainian secret service, the SBU, once again targeted the Kerch bridge.
Scottish Sun
4 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
What is Ukraine's ‘mystery missile'? Russia quaking after Kyiv uses ‘new weapon' to blitz Putin on night of hell
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) VLADIMIR Putin has been left shell-shocked by a brand new mystery missile he claims Ukraine attacked him with overnight. A massive strike ripped through an airport in Bryansk and reportedly destroyed a placement of Putin's Iskander missile system. 9 Vladimir Putin has been left shell-shocked by a brand new mystery missile he claims Ukraine attacked him with overnight in Bryansk Credit: East2West 9 The huge blasts targeted a Russian airfield with a giant mushroom cloud eruption seen by onlookers Credit: East2West 9 The severity of the attack has led to Russians accusing Kyiv of using German-supplied Taurus missiles Credit: Getty 9 Thursday saw one of the most explosive evenings of fighting for some time during the gruelling war. The night of hell saw Putin exact revenge for Ukraine's stunning Operation Spiderweb drone blitz last weekend. The Russia tyrant hammered Ukraine with 407 drones and 44 missiles - unleashing a deadly wave of strikes that killed three and injured dozens. But a valiant Ukraine hit back with their own set of attacks. Dramatic footage shows one explosion, believed to be from the mystery weapon, followed by a powerful secondary blast. A follow up attack also took out a launcher for the Iskander a day earlier, Ukraine claimed. But the blasts were something never been seen before by the quaking Russians during their illegal invasion. This led to speculation on pro-Kremlin media channels that Ukraine may have fired a powerful German-supplied Taurus missile. Putin-loyalists Tsargrad said on Telegram: 'Did the first Taurus strike Russia? "Unprecedented escalation in Bryansk and destruction of Iskander missiles.' Putin plotting 'final killer offensive' to WIN Ukraine war despite Russian losses nearing 1 MILLION As channel MIG Russia claimed the pinpoint Bryansk strike was carried out with Western-made long-range missiles. If it was a Taurus, it would mark the first ever time it has been used by Kyiv. The Russians would also view it as an 'unprecedented escalation' in the conflict due to the damage the weapon can cause. Discourse around German weapons has ramped up in the parts 24 hours ever since Chancellor Friedrich Merz met in the Oval Office with Donald Trump. German sources have had to deny that any agreement had been reached during the talks to send supplies of long-range Taurus' to Ukraine. Merz had announced at the end of May that Ukraine's key backers - including Germany, France, the UK and the US - had all lifted restrictions on where donated weapons can be used. And the announcement could even mean that Britain's state-of-the-art Storm Shadow missiles could soon be used by Ukraine. Britain's bunker-busting Storm Shadow rockets are a nightmare for enemies as they are capable of dodging air defences. 9 The mystery blast from Ukraine saw two explosion ring out across the airfield Credit: East2West 9 Firefighters work at the site of a Russian drone attack in Kyiv Credit: Reuters 9 A Russian bomb lands in Ukraine overnight Credit: AP The £800,000 missiles - already being fired within Ukraine - use GPS to precisely hit targets, and can travel at 600mph. The Taurus missile system is widely regarded as Germany's equivalent to the Storm Shadow. The tit-for-tat attacks came hours after US President Donald Trump said it might be better to let Ukraine and Russia fight for a while. The president has been so far unsuccessful on getting the two countries to agree to peace - with Moscow not moving on its demands. The American was full of praise for Ukraine though as he labelled the daring Operation Spiderweb attack as "strong and badass". The daring operation saw a fired up Ukraine wreck 41 Russian planes across the strategic airfields. Putin's doomsday bomber fleet was crippled with a third of his most prized aircraft lying in smouldering wrecks. It comes as a new report accused Putin of plotting a final killer offensive along three fronts to win the war this summer. The Russian army is nearing one million casualties in its bungled three-year-old invasion as peace talks continue to stall. Now, some 125,000 Russian soldiers are reportedly right now massing along the Sumy and Kharkiv frontiers, according to Ukraine's military intelligence. Over the past fortnight border villages have fallen to Russia as it is may to be preparing the ground for the offensive. But some senior commanders in Ukraine believe that could be a feint and Russia is actually preparing to attack further south to push further into the Donbas, Ukraine Pravda reports. Russia is likely to attack through three areas near each other in the Donbas - Kramatorsk, Kostiantynivka, and Pokrovsk. 9 Fire and smoke rise in Kyiv following a Russian drone and missile strike overnight Credit: Reuters
South Wales Argus
4 hours ago
- South Wales Argus
Six Ukrainian regions targeted by Russia in one of war's largest aerial attacks
The night-time assault lasted for hours and killed three emergency responders in the capital Kyiv as well as another person in a north-western city, according to authorities. The barrage included 407 drones and 44 ballistic and cruise missiles, Ukrainian air force spokesman Yurii Ihnat said. Ukrainian forces said they shot down about 30 of the cruise missiles and up to 200 of the drones. Today is a day of our gratitude to every journalist, to all media workers, to everyone who develops new information platforms and resources. The world knows what is happening in Ukraine. Every country knows our position and hears what we are doing to defend our independence and… — Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) June 6, 2025 Ukrainian cities have come under regular bombardment since Russia invaded its neighbour in February 2022. The attacks have killed more than 12,000 civilians, according to the United Nations. 'Russia doesn't change its stripes,' Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said. Mr Zelensky, as well as the Ukrainian interior ministry and the general prosecutor's office, said three emergency workers were killed in Kyiv while responding to the Russian strikes. 'They were working under fire to help people,' the interior ministry said in a statement. The war has continued unabated even as a US-led diplomatic push for a settlement has brought two rounds of direct peace talks between delegations from Russia and Ukraine. The negotiations delivered no significant breakthroughs, however, and the sides remain far apart on their terms for an end to the fighting. Ukraine has offered an unconditional 30-day ceasefire and a meeting between Mr Zelensky and Russian leader Vladimir Putin to break the deadlock. But the Kremlin has effectively rejected a truce and has not budged from its demands. An explosion is seen after a Russian air strike on Kyiv on Friday (Evgeniy Maloletka/AP/PA) Mr Putin said in a phone call with US President Donald Trump earlier this week that he would respond to Ukraine's daring long-range attack on Russian air bases on Sunday. Russia's defence ministry claimed it had aimed at Ukrainian military targets with 'long-range precision weapons' and successfully struck arms depots, drone factories and repair facilities, among other targets. In Russia, air defences shot down 10 Ukrainian drones heading toward the capital early on Friday, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said. Flights at Moscow airports were temporarily suspended during the night as a precaution. Ukrainian drones also targeted three other regions of Russia, authorities said, damaging apartment buildings and industrial plants. Three people were injured, officials said. The Russian defence ministry said that air defences downed 174 Ukrainian drones over 13 regions early on Friday. It added that three Ukrainian Neptune missiles were also shot down over the Black Sea.
