The Romanian government has resumed a coordinated campaign to silence and destabilise human rights and civil liberties organisations. These groups, known as non-governmental organisations (NGOs), are vital defenders of democracy and the rule of law because they hold the government to account when it breaks the rules. But newly proposed legislative changes would severely limits NGOs’ access to both private and public funding and place an increased administrative burden on these already under-funded and under-resourced organisations.

‘Tacit adoption’

The government first went public with a plan to restrict the activity of NGOs earlier this year, but that effort was shelved when parliament broke for the summer recess. Now, however, the campaign is back on track: on 20 November, the Romanian Senate adopted a bill that makes several changes to Governmental Ordinance 26/2000, which governs the funding and functioning of NGOs in Romania. This bill appears to be a direct response to the success NGOs had in mobilising public protests against the government's plan earlier this year to weaken anti-corruption laws. These protests were so successful that the government now wants to stop NGOs from being able to mobilise the public again.

The proposed bill was passed by the Senate through a process called ‘tacit adoption’ – basically, the government did not explicitly endorse the bill, but its voting block in the Senate refused to debate the changes before the deadline to do so passed on 20 November, meaning the bill was adopted by default. This allows the government to get what it wants without taking responsibility for it. Although the bill still needs approval by the Chamber of Deputies, the success of the tacit adoption manoeuvre is a strong indicator that this body will not derail the legislation.

Two key changes

The bill passed by the Senate, which was proposed by two Social Democratic MPs, makes two critical changes to existing law:

• It forces NGOs to report all sources of income and expenses every six months. The requirement to compile twice-yearly financial reports would be an extraordinary drain on NGOs’ resources and would distract them from carrying out other work, such as serving as watchdogs of the government. The penalty for an NGO that fails to file these reports is grossly disproportionate: it would face dissolution within 30 days. NGOs are already required to follow the same reporting obligations and tax verification as other private entities, though the new bill makes changes only for NGOs.
• It introduces a censorship mechanism that the government can employ to silence NGOs wishing to publicly criticise politicians. Under the bill, NGOs are not eligible for ‘public utility organisation’ status – and the series of state subsidies that come with it – if the government can show that they engaged in any form of 'political activity', from fundraising to public demonstrations to issuing publications critical of the government.

The above-mentioned bill is in addition to other changes to financial regulations that have passed this year or are currently under consideration in parliament. Beginning in 2018, these reforms will dramatically reduce NGOs’ access to private funding through sponsorships and donations. Most notably, changes to the tax code mean that 80% of Romania’s companies will not receive any financial incentives for gifts made to NGOs and other not-for-profit organisations, even in the form of deductions from taxable income.

Soros scapegoated... again

To ‘sell’ this new legislation to the public, the Romanian government is using the tired script of demonising George Soros, blaming him for the economic and societal ills of the country. It goes something like this: ‘Soros is to blame for what is wrong in the country, and these NGOs are just accomplices to his agenda to destabilise the government and economy. What's more, these NGOs abuse public money by using it against the peoples’ interest’.

Just like the Fidesz government in Hungary, the Romanian government has refused to back this up with any evidence or reasoning as to how, exactly, Soros and NGOs are harmful to society. Moreover, the above arguments totally ignore the fact that NGOs already operate under rigorous financial reporting standards, and they are infinitely more transparent than businesses in this regard. In truth, corruption is widely seen as the greatest impediment to economic growth and prosperity in Romania. Corruption by politicians is so extreme that earlier this year, hundreds of thousands of Romanian citizens protested for days against a government attempt to legally insulate corrupt acts. The current reforms to hamper NGOs are nothing more than an attempt to silence corruption watchdogs so politicians can keep on with 'business as usual'.

Government must clarify position

Together with over 70 NGOs, on 22 November the Association for the Defence of Human Rights in Romania – the Helsinki Committee (APADOR-CH), a Liberties member, issued a public statement demanding that the leadership of the Social Democratic Party clarifies its position on NGOs in Romania. APADOR-CH, together with Liberties, will continue to monitor the situation and keep you fully updated on future developments. Your support for Romanian NGOs is more important now than ever before.