Georgia’s EU dream in tatters as ‘foreign agent’ bill becomes law, 28 May 2024

The Georgian parliament...voted to adopt a controversial new law that would brand Western-backed NGOs and media outlets as “foreign agents,” marking a dramatic escalation in a growing row with Washington and Brussels.

The proposals, which would designate civil society groups that receive more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad as “pursuing the interests of a foreign power,” was passed by MPs by a margin of 84 votes to 4, with most opposition lawmakers abstaining.

That comes after Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili refused to sign the bill into law, branding it a “Russian law” that “contradicts our constitution and all European standards.” However, her veto was overridden by a simple majority in parliament. Now, parliamentary speaker Shalva Papuashvili will sign it into law.

The governing Georgian Dream party has said the rules are necessary to prevent influence from abroad, accusing NGOs of promoting “LGBT propaganda” and attempting to stage “a revolution.” Critics at home fear it could be a precursor to a Russian-style crackdown on civil society ahead of nationwide elections in October. Europe’s top legal authority has warned the rules resemble ones used by Moscow to silence dissent and shutter NGOs.

Addressing protestors assembled outside parliament via a live stream after the vote, Zourabichvili said: “You are angry today and rightly so, but lets get to business,” pledging to hold a referendum on “whether we want European future or Russian slavery”...

Washington has announced it will impose travel bans and other sanctions on politicians “complicit in undermining democracy in Georgia,” and the EU had declared passage of the bill would torpedo the South Caucasus country’s hopes of joining the bloc.

Brussels handed Georgia EU candidate status in December despite concerns over backsliding on human rights issues and a failure to implement key reforms...