The Ministry of Justice will check the business association of Europe for "foreign agency"

The Association of European Businesses has been operating in RUSSIA for almost 30 years and represents the interests of international companies in the country.The Ministry of Justice was asked to check it due to criticism by firms of the country's policies and membership fees from abroad.

The Ministry of Justice is checking the Association of European Businesses (AEB) for compliance with the characteristics of a foreign agent, Izvestia writes with reference to internal documents of the department. The check began on January 12, the result was supposed to be ready by last Friday, February 3.

With a request to check the AEB, the Public Consumer Initiative (PII) turned to the Ministry of Justice, the text of its letter was also studied in the newspaper. The appeal said that most of the foreign countries and companies represented by the association publicly criticized Russia's policy, and the AEB itself accepts money from abroad, for example, membership fees. In addition, the foreign association acts in the interests of foreign firms and takes part in political activities in Russia, emphasized the PSI.

“[AEB] openly opposes the initiatives needed by the state, for example, against the legalization of parallel imports. The AEB promotes ideas that infringe on the consumer rights of citizens,” said Oleg Pavlov, HEAD of the Public Consumer Initiative.

The Association of European Businesses includes more than 500 companies from the EU member countries, Turkey, Japan, SOUTH KOREA and the USA: among them are IKEA, Mercedes-Benz, Bacardi, Nike, Hyundai, Coca-Cola, Bank Credit Suisse, etc.

The organization was founded in 1995, it is the main representative office of foreign investors in Russia, the website says. All members of the organization are united by "commitment to the goal of strengthening economic ties between the EU and Russia, as well as the desire to improve the investment climate in the Russian Federation."

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The Ministry of Justice told Izvestia on Thursday, February 2, that they were still checking the activities of the Association of European Businesses, by that day it had not yet been completed.

The association itself noted only that they are the key representation of European and international investors in the country, but, like any non-profit organization, they will be required to comply with all requirements of the Ministry of Justice.

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The Russian branch of the International Committee for the Protection of Human Rights called the PPI initiative predictable. The division's vice-president Ivan Melnikov considered that the Ministry of Justice would most likely recognize the association as a foreign agent, since the current legislation contains all the prerequisites for this.

“You need to understand that business associations are mainly trying to find a dialogue. Often they serve as an ally for Russia, which helps foreign companies to interact with Russian ones, with our authorities, they try to get business out of politics,” he stressed and pointed out that almost all business associations are at risk of obtaining the status of a foreign agent.

The government approved the regulation on state control over foreign agents Politics

The Association of European Businesses regularly addressed the Russian authorities on the issue of industry regulation. In particular, in July 2021, the organization applied to the Moscow government with a request to allow those who were vaccinated abroad to receive covid-19 vaccination QR codes ; in August of the same year, the organization criticized the verdict in the criminal case of the founder of the Baring Vostok Foundation, Michael Calvey; and in September last year asked the authorities to impose a moratorium on the collection of fines due to non-compliance with the terms of warranty repairs for cars.