The European Union should at least double the amount of funding it makes available to support the activities of Russian civil society organisations, according to an influential group of MEPs who have sent an open letter to senior EU officials responsible for administering financial assistance.

Citing the “pressure” facing Russian civil society and the “deteriorating situation” exacerbated by the “so-called foreign agent law”, the MEPs are calling on the EU to “stay strongly supportive to Russian civil society”.

The letter follows an appeal from the EU-Russia Civil Society Forum, a network of more than 120 NGOs, calling for increased EU support for civil society activities in Russia, particularly in the wake of the decision by USAID to halt its work in the country.

The letter calls for a boost in funding made available through the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights, a mechanism established in 2006 to enhance respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in countries and regions where they are most at risk.

The MEPs also state in their letter that the EU “should keep on influencing in a positive way the democratisation process in Russia”.

The letter was signed by Green group co-leader Rebecca Harms (Germany) and Liberal group leader Guy Verhofstadt (Belgium); chair of the EU-Russia Parliamentary Cooperation Committee Knut Fleckenstein (Germany); vice-chairs of the EU-Russia PCC Werner Schulz (Germany) and Alojz Peterle (Slovenia); and EU-Russia PCC members Kristiina Ojuland (Estonia) and Marek Migalski (Poland).

The letter can be read HERE