Changes to the Voluntary Organisations Act would make life more difficult for NGOs, education minister Evarist Bartolo acknowledged on Monday, but would ultimately be in the organisations' own interests.
The minister was speaking as Parliament opened the debate on the 200-plus pages of amendments to the 2007 law, intended to close loopholes which made organisations vulnerable to money laundering and terrorist financing.
The amendments also include new proposals on religious and political organisations while clarifying terminology and reflecting principles adopted in Court judgements, and aim to prevent NGOs from being used for ulterior motives.
Introducing the amendments, which he said had been a long time coming, Mr Bartolo acknowledged the difficulties NGOs may face, noting that the changes included good governance requirements that even large banks found hard to implement, but added that organisations would ultimately benefit from adherence to the requirements.
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Dr Bartolo emphasised that it was the government's duty to assist voluntary organisations to accomplish their goals, through funding and other assistance, and that the government should limit any obstacle to the valuable work being carried out. Voluntary organisations involved youth in the spirit of the community, he said, and should be given all their merited importance.
Meanwhile, Opposition MP Hermann Schiavone questioned the haste with which the amendments were being passed after the government had "slept on the issue" for five years, speculating that this was due to a visit the following month by a delegation from the Council of Europe's money laundering monitoring agency, Moneyval.
Pointing out that the country would not be the same without the 1500-plus NGOs working in the voluntary sector, he praised the fact that the amendments would make it obligatory for NGOs to register with the Commissioner for Voluntary Organisations, and the Commissioner's new powers to investigate suspected abuse.
He also acknowledged that the government had taken note of proposals made by civil society and by the NGOs themselves, and pledged the Opposition's cooperation as long as sufficient time was given for each clause to be evaluated. However, he questioned whether steps would be taken against "hundreds" of non-compliant NGOs.