New donation hurdle

Black-Blue has environmental associations in its sights

The black-blue state government wants to make life difficult for associations that are committed to environmental protection.(Bild: Uwe Grinzinger)

The black-blue Salzburg state government is demanding disclosure and information about the origin of donations to associations. Critics speak of the next attack on nature conservation in Salzburg.

The black-blue state government wants recognized environmental organizations to disclose their donations and their origin in the future - following the example of the laws for political parties. On Wednesday afternoon, a majority of the ÖVP and FPÖ voted in favor of a motion in the relevant state parliament committee to lobby the federal government for corresponding regulations.

"Environmental organizations have a privileged legal status under certain conditions," said ÖVP parliamentary group leader Wolfgang Mayer. The motion itself mentions, for example, participation and appeal rights for procedures under the Nature Conservation Act, the National Parks Act, the Hunting Act and the Fisheries Act. "It is legitimate for the public to find out what interests are behind this, for example when NGOs cooperate with large corporations."

Three associations in Salzburg would currently be affected
Criticism came from the opposition: Green Party leader Martina Berthold was certain that the demand for transparency was just a pretext. "Critical voices are being silenced. Environmental protection organizations are being put under targeted pressure." Many environmental NGOs have donation seals of approval and therefore have to submit to critical scrutiny. "Why is this being demanded?" asked Karin Dollinger from the SPÖ. "Because funding can be cut if you know how many donations an environmental NGO receives?"

In Salzburg, three associations would currently be affected by a regulation in line with the state government: the Alpine Association, Naturefriends and the Nature Conservation Association. Winfrid Herbst, Chairman of the Salzburg Nature Conservation Association, had already reacted with indignation to the proposal by the ÖVP and FPÖ in the run-up to today's state parliament session