Update, 25  May 2026, 09:00 a.m. The number of signatory organizations has exceeded 880.

Update, 22  May 2026, 09:00 a.m. The number of signatory organizations has exceeded 850.

Update, 21  May 2026, 09:00 a.m. The number of organizations that have signed the open letter has now reached 825.

Update, 20 May 2026, 10:30 a.m.  The number of organizations that have signed the open letter has exceeded 700.

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More than 430 civil society organizations are raising concerns about the risks posed by the legislative initiative to amend Government Ordinance No. 26/2000 on associations and foundations, which is on the agenda of today’s plenary session of the Romanian Senate, draft law L233/2026.

We consider that the general obligation to publish donors’ identities, combined with the sanction of suspending an organization’s activity for failure to submit the required declaration, is a disproportionate measure that may affect freedom of association and the ability of non-governmental organizations to operate.

Transparency is necessary in a democratic society, but it must not be turned into a mechanism of control or permanent suspicion directed at civil society, especially since state institutions already hold the relevant information and have the legal tools to intervene when there are suspicions of unlawful conduct.

The signatory organizations call on Parliament to reject this initiative or on its initiators to withdraw it, given the concerns regarding its constitutionality, its compatibility with European standards on freedom of association, and the quality of the legislation. These concerns have also been reflected in the negative opinions issued by the Economic and Social Council, the Legislative Council, and the Senate Committee on Human Rights.

Any regulation concerning civil society must be based on a legitimate aim, concrete data, and proportionate measures, not on assumptions that may restrict civic space in Romania.