Georgia’s Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze assured that the law on “foreign agents” will “reduce polarization in society.”
Georgia’s parliament on Wednesday, May 1, adopted in the second reading the bill on the transparency of foreign influence, or the law on “foreign agents,” which sparked mass protests. This was reported by the Echo of the Caucasus.
In the second reading, as in the first, 83 deputies, mainly from the pro-government Georgian Dream, voted for the bill;
The third and final hearing is tentatively scheduled for May 17.
Georgia’s deputies approved the law on “foreign agents” in the second reading. Image: screenshot
Georgia’s Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said the law on “foreign agents” was “important for strengthening state sovereignty” and would be adopted by parliament in mid-May.
“Compromise is not acceptable on this issue, because this law will reduce social polarization in mid-May, this law will be ratified, and after a few weeks the president’s veto will be overridden in the parliament , after which the law will come into force,” he said.
According to him, the law on “transparency of foreign influence” is very simple – it only says one thing – every year non-governmental organizations must publish a financial declaration.
“I don’t think that the European Union or the Venice Commission can be against the financial transparency of non-governmental organizations,” said Kobakhidze.
We remind you that protests against the adoption of the Transparency of Foreign Influence Law (On Foreign Agents) have been taking place in Tbilisi for two weeks now. On April 17, the country’s parliament approved it in the first reading.
The EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell said that Georgia may experience problems joining the European Union due to the adoption of the bill on “foreign agents”.
Source: korrespondent
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