Slovenian CSOs have accused the right-wing prime minister and the government’s ministers of continuing a “crusade” against the NGO sector by introducing “discriminatory conditions” which could deter them from acquiring funding. BCSDN’s member from Slovenia, CNVOS, in a press release reflects that before announcing the calls under the Norway Grants and European Economic Area (EEA) Grants mechanisms with donor countries Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein, the ministry responsible for cohesion imposed discriminatory criteria to exclude the participation of NGOs. As a result, Slovenia is facing the risk of having 34 million EUR blocked. The release also points that while some of the Slovenian public recognize the importance of NGOs in promoting the public good and human rights, the government is challenging them, claiming they consume too much public money. Read more here.
Source: Civic Space Watch