Thousands have been demonstrating in front of the Georgian parliament in Tbilisi over the past few days, protesting the first reading adoption of a draft law on “foreign agents”. Between the lines is a hint of Russia – which adopted a similar text in 2012 before extending its scope in 2019. The highly volatile bill even provoked a brawl between members of parliament on 6 March.
The law would force organisations receiving more than 20 percent of their funding from a country other than Georgia to register as “foreign agents”.
The decision of the Georgian parliament, currently led by Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia (KO-DS, centre-left), a party founded by pro-Russian oligarch and former prime minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, puts a damper on the country’s bid for EU membership. The country applied for EU membership last year along with Moldova and Ukraine, when the Russian invasion was in its early stages.
Receive the best of European journalism straight to your inbox every Thursday
Receive the best of European journalism straight to your inbox every Thursday
Was this article useful? If so we are delighted! It is freely available because we believe that the right to free and independent information is essential for democracy. But this right is not guaranteed forever, and independence comes at a cost. We need your support in order to continue publishing independent, multilingual news for all Europeans. Discover our membership offers and their exclusive benefits and become a member of our community now!
Comments are closed, but trackbacks and pingbacks are open.