Parliament of the Republic of Montenegro in Podgorica on a rainy autumn day. Photo by Global Voices. Used with permission.

Civil society organizations in Montenegro warn that the proposed new law on “agents of foreign influence” poses a serious threat to democratic processes, freedom of assembly and the activities of non-governmental organizations. This law, inspired by similar regulations from countries like Russia, Georgia, Kyrgyzstanand Hungary, would create a legal framework that would make the operation of NGOs much more difficult, if not impossible.

The proposal was introduced on October 9 by the judgment Coalition for the Future of Montenegro (ZBCG), composed of pro-Serb and pro-Russian political parties, whose leaders include acquitted defendants in the 2016 “coup” plot involving Russian spies.

ZBCG claimed that the new law would be based on that of the United States Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). Although other members of the Government have declared themselves opposed to this initiative, the ZBCG continues its campaign against the NGOs.

Addressing the proposal to introduce a so-called FARA law, the main Montenegrin pro-democracy organization, the Center for Democratic Transition (CDT), published an analysis titled “FAR from gasoline“, debunking the claim that Montenegrin law is similar to that of FARA, and noting that this is not the first time that the Montenegrin government has attempted to target the civilian sector. CDT noted that such an attack on civil society would harm democratic processes and Montenegro’s European aspirationswhich would threaten its credibility on the international scene.

The Digital Forensic Center, a think tank focused on reducing the impact of misinformation, also warned that:

The Future of Montenegro coalition’s reference to the US Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) is already a well-established disinformation tactic by pro-Russian proxies across Europe. They use the existence of this law to implement in their country a program that contradicts democratic values ​​and implement totalitarian tendencies, suppressing the freedom of civil society and limiting the activities of independent media and non-governmental organizations.

Regional trends

Although the proposed law could have a devastating impact on Montenegrin civil society, it is by no means alone in using this strategy, as it appears to be part of a regional trend. Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro’s neighbor, tried unsuccessfully to pass a similar law, saying it was based on U.S. law. In Bosnia, the initiators were ethnic Serb or pro-Serb parties that run the entity. Republika Srpska. They also campaign for alliance with Russiaand undermining their countries’ Euro-Atlantic integration. CDT note in their analysis:

The Bosanskohercegovačkom entity of the Republika Srpska fought to razmatra or sličnom prijedlogu zakona proljetos, ali I was able to see this procedure. Predsjednik’s entity, Milorad Dodik, thought about what happened to the leadership of FARA and the SAD umjesto of Republika Srpska. Ali, prema uvidu médijaPrijedlog zakona niji ličio na FARA-u već na onaj iz Rusije. They are also EU and BiH delegates at the SAD Embassy (OEBS-a).

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republika Srpska entity was supposed to consider a similar proposal this spring, but it was withdrawn from the procedure. The president of this entity, Milorad Dodikpreviously stated that they would literally copy the text of FARA and simply replace the word USA with Republika Srpska. However, a media preview showed that the bill did not resemble the American FARA but the Russian law on foreign agents. This sparked strong reactions from the European Union delegation to Bosnia and Herzegovina, the US Embassy and the OSCE.

The Bosnian Serb government withdrew last May, their controversial bill, which would have required all nonprofit groups receiving international funding to register in a national database, thereby designating them as foreign agents. However, there is no guarantee against retrying. After all, they also have close relationships with the ruling party in Hungarywhich adopted similar legislation after several attempts.

Even though it is a member of the European Union, Hungary has adopted a law similar to Russian law on foreign agents in 2017, which aimed to hinder civil society organizations that receive funding from abroad. The law was repealed in 2021 after the European Court of Justice determined this did not comply with EU regulations.

However, in December 2023, Hungary adopted a new Russian-style law called Sovereignty Protection Act, similar in the spirit of the Russian law on foreign agents. Under this law, the “Sovereignty Protection Office” was then created. collect information on groups and individuals receiving foreign funds. The European Commission announcement on October 3, 2024, that it was sue Hungary about the law that imposes prison sentences on groups that accept foreign funds for political causes.

Although Hungarian government politicians initially denied that the sovereignty protection law was part of a campaign against civil society and the independent press, a investigation by the Hungarian fact-checking service Lakmusz showed that it was blatantly clear who was targeted by the law.

For example, in June, the Sovereignty Protection Office launched an investigation against the investigative editorial office Átlátszó and the anti-corruption organization Transparency International Hungary. The office also published “studies” of dubious methodology that listed “pro-war“newspapers and published articles”disinformation.” The Sovereignty Protection Office is also harassment public bodies to collect information on a “sovereignty protection basis”, including the banking details of certain individuals.

Slovakia’s ruling right-wing populist party was also preparing a law based on the Hungarian model, which would target those who receive more than 5,000 euros from abroad, labeling them “organizations with foreign support” and threatening them fines. or closure. The EU condemned the law and warned that Slovakia would face a legal response similar to that of Hungary.

Returning to Montenegro, in a statement to the newspaper Vijesti, the director of the Center for Democracy and Human Rights CEDEMNevenka Vuksanovic, REMARK that the ruling coalition’s initiative for a new foreign agents law could be a “trial balloon” attempting to test public attitudes while promoting initiatives that currently lack support public because they go against the country’s main objective of joining the EU.

If you do this, you will have to wait until the end of the day and you will have a normal disk drive, so you will be able to use it later. Koja je to agenda, ipak nije u ovom momentu jasno.

Obviously, they have a larger agenda and, little by little, they are trying to normalize issues that are part of that agenda in public discourse. Little by little, they make these notions known to citizens, then make them acceptable. What their (ultimate) program is remains unclear at the moment.