Rinkevics calls for respectful dialog on financing for NGOs

RIGA - Issues regarding state funding for nongovernmental organizations must be addressed through respectful dialog, not exaggerated rhetoric, President Edgars Rinkevics emphasized during a meeting with Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs (United List) at Riga Castle on Wednesday.

NGOs play a significant and positive role in the development of Latvia as a democratic state, said Rinkevics. These organizations are diverse: they provide support and assistance to patients, social care, promote military and patriotic education, and represent interests of various lobby groups.

In a democratic society, the use of taxpayer money is a legitimate concern for all who receive these funds - including ministries, local governments, and NGOs, said Rinkevics. In his opinion, discussions regarding the appropriateness of specific funding programs should take place through respectful dialog rather than one-sided monologs, whose rhetoric often "goes off the rails rather than staying on track".

Commenting on the debate about the 2027 state budget, Rinkevics agreed with Kulbergs that a discussion on spending and investments must take place, but called for a reasonable approach rather than a shouting match.

The question of how much funding is allocated and to whom has provoked a backlash, suggesting that the government wants to shut down NGOs and cut financing for NGOs, said Kulbergs. He emphasized that he had not phrased it that way, but he wanted to clarify where taxpayers' money was going.

There are 169 NGOs in Latvia that are 100 percent funded from the state budget, said Kulbergs, asking whether such organizations could even be considered non-governmental and why their members were not making contributions.

There are many efficient NGOs in Latvia that perform state functions, said Kulbergs, expressing his willingness to delegate even more state functions to them, since, in his view, the private sector and NGOs are capable of carrying out certain tasks more effectively, quickly, purposefully, and productively.

However, some NGOs cast a shadow over other, well-functioning organizations, and it is in the interest of the government, society, and NGOs themselves to determine which NGOs are efficient and which are not, and this will sbenefit everyone, said Kulbergs.

Last week, Kulbergs instructed the State Chancellery to prepare a comprehensive analysis of state funding allocated to NGOs.

On the other hand, Inese Vaivare, a representative of the NGO sector and Director of the Latvian Platform for Development Cooperation, claimed that the campaign against NGOs, initiated by the prime minister and further supported by certain individuals, was almost like a hybrid war aimed at undermining public trust in civil society and the non-governmental sector.