Senate shoots down law to monitor donations to mosques from abroad

Mayors and the Public Prosecution Service will not gain extra authority to oversee foreign donations to community organizations like mosques and weekend schools. The Senate rejected the proposed law, even though BBB, D66, CDA, and ChristenUnie had backed it in the lower house.

The law aimed to curb unwanted foreign influence by enabling mayors and the Public Prosecution Service to request information from community organizations about donations. Foundations would also have been obliged to share certain documents confidentially with the Chamber of Commerce. The measures were intended to prevent money laundering and the financing of terrorism.

To ease the administrative load on small organizations, the lower house stipulated that only foreign donations of €15,000 or more would be eligible for review.

The Senate factions that reversed their lower house votes argued that mayors did not see a need for the power to request donation details. “Their position was very clear: we do not support this bill,” D66 senator Boris Dittrich said, summarizing their stance during the debate.

“Mayors stand above party politics and are tasked with safeguarding the community as a whole. This new power risks politicizing that role,” said Susanne Scheepers, mayor of Simpelveld. She spoke at a Senate expert session representing the Dutch Association of Mayors and the Association of Dutch Municipalities.

“Unbelievable!!” VVD MP Bente Becker wrote on X after the law was voted down, including by her coalition partners D66 and CDA. The three parties had pledged in their coalition agreement to limit foreign funding of organizations such as mosques “as much as possible.” Becker added that she expects the government to introduce a new proposal “soon.”