Despite widespread protests recently, Georgia’s parliament passed the bill on “foreign agents” today in its third and final vote. This move has ignited a political crisis in the country and jeopardized its accession to the EU.
Georgia’s President Salome Zourabichvili may veto the bill, but the ruling party “Georgian Dream” has enough parliamentary members to override it.
The bill has triggered the largest protests in the country since its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
The law mandates that organizations receiving 20% or more of their funding from abroad register as “foreign agents” or incur fines.
The ruling party asserts that passing the bill is crucial to improve transparency in NGO funding and safeguard the country against external interference.
Western nations and the Georgian opposition criticize the bill as “authoritarian” and “of Russian origin.” Critics liken it to Russia’s 2012 law on “foreign agents,” which has been utilized to silence Kremlin critics.
The dispute over the bill is crucial in deciding whether Georgia, which has historically maintained close ties with the West, will persist in its endeavors toward European Union and NATO integration or instead cultivate relations with Russia.
The EU, having granted Georgia candidate country status in December, has consistently emphasized that the draft law could endanger the country’s ongoing integration into the Union.
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