By Civic Alliance — Latvia
On 8 November, Civic Alliance – Latvia (CAL) raised the alarm about a proposal submitted to the Latvian parliament by the political party of “Zaļo un Zemnieku savienība” to liquidate the Society Integration Foundation (SIF) — a state institution that for more than 20 years has provided significant support to civil society organizations, independent media, social cohesion initiatives and support to Latvia’s most vulnerable and underserved communities.
More than 70 CSOs and media organisations signed a joint letter warning of a serious threat to civil society and media freedom, as such a proposal should be viewed as an attempt to weaken civil society, limit opportunities for public participation, and undermine the independent media environment, signaling a worrying trend toward restricting democratic processes and the Memorandum Council of Civil Society Organizations and Cabinet of Ministers adopted an official position, which was sent to the government and the Parliament
On 12 November, following strong alarm and mobilisation from civil society, the coalition parties agreed that SIF would not be liquidated, but that an audit of the SIF’s functions and an assessment of its administrative costs would be carried out. During the following budget discussions, “Zaļo un Zemnieku savienība” has withdrawn its proposal to liquidate the SIF, although the draft budget still includes several proposals that could affect civil society and the media environment from the opposition parties, including reducing funding for programmes administered by the SIF. CAL will continue to mobilize the sector and actively work to prevent this from happening.
It is planned that the final reading of the draft law “On the State Budget for 2026”and accompanying draft laws, including proposals related to the Society Integration Fund, will be decided by the parliament in the first week of December.