The announcement of the law on foreign agents is another anti-European and anti-Western idea of a part of the ruling coalition whose mouth is full of commitment to joining the European Union (EU) and accepting its values, according to the Center for Democratic Transition (CDT).
The Coalition for the Future of Montenegro (ZBCG) announced earlier today that it is necessary to urgently propose a law on agents of foreign influence in Montenegro.
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CDT Executive Director Dragan Koprivica called on members of the ruling coalition to express their opinion on the proposal of the New Serbian Democracy that the functioning of various foreign agencies that try to influence the internal and foreign policy of Montenegro under the guise of NGOs should be urgently regulated by law.
Koprivica invited the other members of the ruling coalition to say whether this is also part of their policy.
He said that he hopes that in the ruling coalition there are still those subjects who sincerely and not only verbally inherit the values of the EU and respect the decisions of its most important institutions.
"But most importantly, those who have the courage to publicly oppose the constant attempts to introduce anti-European practices and policies into the Montenegrin legislative system," added Koprivica.
He said that Montenegro, as a candidate country for EU membership, must harmonize its legislation with the European legal acquis.
"And in the process of drafting new legislation, it must follow EU legislation, as well as the EU Charter on Fundamental Rights. This initiative is directly opposed to that obligation," Koprivica believes.
He stated that it is interesting that with this proposal, Montenegro wants to align itself with Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Hungary and Georgia, which have adopted similar solutions.
Koprivica said that the adoption of such legislation was also considered in the Bosnian-Herzegovinian entity Republika Srpska.
"All these legal projects have been met with condemnation by the relevant international institutions and organizations," said Koprivica.
He recalled that the EU has repeatedly condemned such initiatives, and the European Parliament, in a resolution devoted to the Georgian law, called for the withdrawal of that "harmful legislation".
"Indicating that "the targeting of civil society organizations and independent media in general, and this proposed law in particular, is undoubtedly in contradiction and irreconcilable with the norms and values of the Union, as well as with any aspirations for EU membership", Koprivica stated.
He said that the Venice Commission (VK) also analyzed the compliance of those harmful and authoritarian legal proposals with valid international and European standards.
As he added, the Supreme Court has repeatedly warned that the restrictions on the right to freedom of expression, freedom of association and privacy introduced by the laws are not in accordance with the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, as well as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Koprivica said that when Russia itself implemented "this plan against critical thought", the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Ecodefence and others against Russia found that it violated the basic human rights and freedoms of all the applicants, of which there were 61 in that case. subject.
"Russia's activities in violation of human rights and freedoms have led to the fact that today it is not a member of the Council of Europe, thus placing itself on the sidelines of the enlightened trends of European nations," said Koprivica.
He added that the judgment of the Court of Justice of the EU in case C-78/18 is of great importance in this regard.
"The court concluded that the legislation requiring certain civil society organizations, which receive support from abroad above a certain threshold, to register, declare and disclose the sources of funding, and which provides for sanctions in case of non-compliance, is discriminatory and unjustified, resulting in the violation of EU legislation", said Koprivica.
According to him, since its inception, CDT has respected the highest standards of NGO operations.
"And that's why we've been named one of the most transparent think-tanks several times," said Koprivica.
He stated that all relevant information about the work of that NGO is on their website and is available to everyone.
"Also, we strongly advocated for provisions to be incorporated into the current Montenegrin legislation requiring NGOs to register and submit financial reports," said Koprivica.
Those laws, as he added, enable the financial operations of NGOs, including the sources of their financing, to be subject to controls by all competent authorities, which in practice regularly happens.
"But it is clear to anyone who even thinks about the situation in the country we live in that this is not the goal of this proposal," Koprivica believes.
The aim of the proposal, as he said, is to introduce the practices of authoritarian regimes, stifle free thought, persecute dissenters and label civil society as foreign agents and state enemies.
"That's why it is necessary for all parts of the ruling coalition to make a clear and precise statement about this proposal so that the domestic and international public is completely clear about who they are dealing with and adjust their further actions accordingly," said Koprivica.
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