This article was originally published in English
Critics fear the legislation could be used to stifle the press and NGOs and damage the country’s chances of joining the European Union. Georgia has been a candidate country since December 2023.
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The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, condemned police response to ongoing protests in Georgia after the adoption by Parliament of a controversial law on transparency of foreign influence.
The bill, which was adopted on second reading on Sunday afternoon, requires media and non-commercial organizations to register as “pursuing the interests of a foreign power” if they receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad.
In a message posted to X (formerly Twitter), von der Leyen said she was following the clashes between police and protesters with “great concern”.
More than 60 arrests during protests against the law
Police used water cannons, tear gas and pepper spray against the tens of thousands of demonstrators who crowded the surrounding streets.
Dozens of people were arrested the night before and Mass gatherings continue daily in the capital, Tbilisi. Protesters denounce the bill as “Russian law”, as neighboring Russia uses similar legislation to stigmatize independent media and organizations critical of the Kremlin.
Eighty-three of 150 Georgia lawmakers approved the bill on second reading, while 23 voted against. A third and final vote in Parliament is needed before it can be signed into law. Georgian lawmaker Irakli Kobakhidze told reporters Wednesday that he expected this final vote to take place in mid-May.
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Fears for Georgia’s European prospects
Critics of the law fear thatit is used to stifle the press and compromise the country’s chances of joining the European Union. According to a survey, 81% of the Georgian population is in favor of membership.
“We want to be part of the EU. This is why they must be extremely authoritarian, totalitarian, violent towards the people, but this has its limits. You can’t rule a country that is against you all the time“, said Elene Khoshtaria, leader of the opposition Droa party.
Supporters of the billproposed by the ruling Georgian Dream party, claim thatit is necessary to guarantee transparency and national sovereignty.
Pro-European President Salomé Zourabishvili a promis d’veto to the bill if the latter would be approved by Parliament – but legislators can “override” his veto with a sufficient majority.
Tbilisi in the shadow of the “big northern neighbor”
Opponents of the law call it “Russian law” indicating that it is modeled on similar legislation in force in Russia already used to muzzle dissenting voices and point fingers the alleged pro-Russian sympathies of the strongman behind the ruling party, oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili.
Relations between Russia and Georgia have been complicated and turbulent since the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s. In 2008, the two countries engaged in a short war which resulted in Georgia losing control of two separatist regions favorable to Russia.
In the process, Tbilisi severed its diplomatic ties with Moscow, and the question of the status of the regions remains a major irritant, even if relations have improved somewhat.
Georgia joined international resolutions condemning Russia’s massive invasion of Ukraine, but it has also become the main destination for Russians fleeing military mobilization and political repression.. Even Georgia’s ruling party has experienced internal tensions over its neighbor.
European Union in unison opposed to the law
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Wednesday on X, formerly Twitter, that Tbilisi’s use of force against protesters was “unacceptable”.
“Georgia is a candidate country for EU membership and I call on its authorities to guarantee the right to peaceful assembly,” he said.
At the beginning of the month, the EU foreign policy service also criticized Georgian Dream’s decision to reintroduce the lawwhich, according to him, “raises serious concerns” about media freedom in the country, an aspect he called “crucial for the EU accession process.”
“Transparency should not be used as an instrument to limit the ability of civil society to operate freely,” the EU External Action Service said in a statement published on its website on April 4.
