The Georgian authorities are about to approve a law tightening control over organisations receiving foreign funds, Publika reports.
The Georgian parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee approved a bill on transparency of “foreign influence” at its third hearing on Monday. This is the last step before it is put to a parliamentary vote.
Meanwhile, protesters gathered in front of the parliament building amid a heavy police presence, leading to a standoff early Monday. Earlier in the previous demonstrations, 60 protesters were detained and several police officers were injured.
The bill, introduced by the ruling Georgian Dream party, requires media outlets and non-profit organisations to register as being under foreign influence if they receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad.
Critics say this could undermine democracy and ruin the country’s chances of joining the European Union. In an online statement last month, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called the parliament’s action a “very worrying development”. He said that “the final adoption of this law will have a negative impact on Georgia’s progress towards the EU.”
The bill is identical to one proposed in 2023, which the government was forced to withdraw in the face of mass protests.
Although Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili has said she will veto the law if it is passed by parliament, the ruling party can override the veto with 76 votes. The parliament speaker would then be able to sign the law. Adoption of the law will protect Georgia from polarisation and radicalism, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said.
