More than 30 MEPs are demanding that Georgia’s EU candidate status be suspended amid protests over the law on foreign agents.
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The deputies sent a corresponding letter to the head of diplomacy of the European Union, Josep Borrell. In it, they state that “the ongoing undemocratic behavior of the Georgian authorities, in particular its aggressiveness in promoting the ‘Russian’ law on foreign agents, jamming and the use of force against peaceful demonstrators, has crossed all boundaries.”
In their opinion, the behavior of the leading Georgian Dream party is completely contrary to the obligations that it assumed as a candidate country for EU membership.
Earlier, the Legal Committee of the Georgian Parliament supported the bill on “foreign agents”. Because of this, protests took place in Tbilisi. Sova. news writes that thousands of protesters took to the streets with anti-Russian and pro-European calls. The protesters’ posters bore the slogans “No to Russian law! Yes to Europe”, “We are not Georgia, we are Sakartvelo” and “No step back to the USSR”.
The third vote on the bill will take place in mid-May.
Background
Since 2018, after the approval of the new version of the constitution, Georgia has been a parliamentary republic. Consequently, the powers of its president, currently Salome Zurabishvili, are significantly limited.
The country’s ruling party, Georgian Dream, is considered pro-Russian, and its members have repeatedly made mixed comments about the war in Ukraine.
The first attempt to pass the law “On Transparency of Foreign Influence” (the “foreign agents” law) was made by the Georgian Dream party last year (even before the country received candidate status for EU membership). The bill stipulates that organizations whose activities are financed from abroad by 20% or more are required to officially register as foreign agents in a special register. Failure to register may result in a fine.
President Salome Zurabishvili called the law unnecessary and dictated by Moscow, and she promised to veto it if adopted.
The bill was adopted in the first reading on March 7, 2023. In response, protests of many thousands took place not only in Tbilisi, but also in other cities. In the capital, people came to the parliament building with posters “No to the laws of Russia”, “You will never succeed in a dictatorship” and others.
Special forces used water cannons, rubber balls and tear gas to disperse the demonstrators; in response, Molotov cocktails were fired and barricades were erected.
The United States and the European Union already spoke harshly about the situation. Under pressure from the West and protesters, the Georgian parliament failed the law in the second reading. Zurabishvili said that this was a success for the demonstrators: “I would like to congratulate the society on its first success. I’m proud of the people who made themselves heard.”
However, in early April 2024, Georgian Dream shocked society by announcing that the law on “foreign agents” would be reinitiated. At the same time, for some reason the party was convinced that this time there would be no resistance to society. The law was introduced to parliament with the same text, the only difference was that instead of the term “agent of foreign influence” there would be the term “organization representing the interests of a foreign state.”
Source: Racurs
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.