The US could provide a sweeping economic and security support package to Georgia if its government drops its increasingly anti-Western rhetoric and stops conceding on human rights, POLITICO reports.
Under the terms of the bill, which will be introduced in Congress this week by South Carolina Republican Congressman Joe Wilson and seen by POLITICO, the US would begin negotiations with the South Caucasus country to open a “strong preferential trade regime” if key policy criteria are met.
The bill calls for visa liberalisation for Georgian citizens along with improved access to US markets.
It would also direct officials to develop a military support package for Georgia, including “the provision of security and defence equipment ideally suited to territorial defence and associated training, maintenance and operations support elements”.
However, the programme will only become effective if the US confirms that “Georgia has demonstrated significant and sustained progress in restoring democracy, as evidenced, at a minimum, by fair and free elections and a balanced electoral environment”.
Potential sanctions for politicians
Wilson’s bill would impose individual sanctions against politicians from the ruling Georgian Dream party, as well as other government officials, if they implement their proposed “foreign agents” bill. The bill, which awaits a final vote in parliament next week before becoming law, would brand Western-funded NGOs, media outlets and campaign groups as foreign agents, which critics say could silence and delegitimise voices critical of the government.
Wilson serves as chairman of the Commission on Security and Co-operation in Europe, an independent US government agency that monitors freedom and democracy on the continent. His “MEGOBARI Act” (Mobilising and Enhancing Georgia’s Options for Building Accountability, Resilience, and Independence Act) bill echoes the warnings of other leaders in Washington.
US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs James O’Brien warned that if Georgia passes the foreign agents bill, “we will see restrictions coming from the United States” that will affect the finances and travel of those behind it. White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre, meanwhile, said that if Tbilisi implements the foreign agents bill, it “will force us to fundamentally review our relationship with Georgia.”
Tens of thousands of Georgians have taken to the streets in recent weeks to protest against the plans, which the EU says would effectively end the country’s hopes of joining the bloc – just six months after it was granted candidate status. Police used water cannons, tear gas and batons to disperse demonstrators and violently detained activists.
Foreign Agents Bill in the US and the EU
However, the US has had its own law on foreign agents since the first half of the 20th century. The 32nd President of the US, Franklin Roosevelt, signed the American Foreign Agents Act into law in the summer of 1938. The law required foreign agents representing the interests of foreign powers in a “political or quasi-political capacity” to disclose their relationship with the government of another country.
EU countries also have similar laws. On 27 March 2024, the French National Assembly approved a bill on the prevention of foreign interference. According to the bill, France should have its own register of foreign agents.
