Interior Ministry Expands Register of NGOs

Bratislava, 11 August (TASR) – The Interior Ministry has expanded its register of non-governmental organisations (NGOs), which now also includes data from other sources and official records, the ministry's State Secretary Michal Kalinak (Voice-SD) told a press conference on Monday, denying that these changes are a 'hammer' to be used against NGOs. Also attending the press conference were Government Proxy for Civil Society Development Simona Zacharova and head of the Interior Ministry's organisation for public sector digitation Tomas Olexa. According to Kalinak, the register of NGOs is now set up in a manner that makes it possible to provide additional information on NGOs under one roof, such as information concerning the Central Register of Contracts, court rulings, the Land Registry, the Register of Public Sector Partners, risk-linked events, financial analyses and the publishing of financial statements. He said that gaps in terms of transparency have accumulated in this sector over the years. "This is a compass for quick and convenient reference," he said, again denying that it was intended as an attack on NGOs. He sees no double standard in this case when compared to how transparency is approached in other sectors. "We're moving on to other topics in the autumn, and I can't rule out that these could be related to the registers of political parties," said Kalinak. Olexa suggested that the ministry is keen to take a similar approach with other registers but failed to specify which ones might be upgraded or merged. Zacharova welcomed the possibility to have all information about NGOs in one place. However, when asked whether the ministry collaborated with the chamber of NGOs when modernising the register, she chose not to answer directly. "These are matters that are more of a technical nature," she said. jrg/df/ko