Georgian president vetoed “foreign agents” bill, but the ruling party is still able to get the controversial law through parliament.
Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili has announced that she has vetoed the foreign agents bill, but the ruling Georgian Dream party intends to pass it into law despite massive public protests and international criticism and warnings of repercussions from the United States and the European Union.
Earlier, the President expressed support for the protesters and promised to veto the bill. Speaking at a press conference in the capital Tbilisi on Saturday, President Zourabichvili confirmed that she had vetoed the bill, which was awaiting her signature after being passed in parliament earlier this week. She said:
“Today I vetoed a Russian law. This law is Russian in its essence and spirit. (…) The law is not subject to any changes or improvements – this law should be abolished.”
Although the step is largely symbolic, since a simple majority vote in parliament could override a presidential veto. MPs backed the law, introduced by the ruling Georgian Dream party, by 84 votes to 30 on Tuesday, despite warnings from Brussels that the proposed law effectively torpedoes the South Caucasus country’s hopes of joining the EU.
The proposals, which would apply to organisations that receive more than 20 per cent of their funding from abroad, are similar to those used by the Kremlin, critics say. However, Brussels and Washington also have their own foreign agents law, which aims to prevent foreign interference.
