The European Union rebuked Georgia’s ruling party, Georgian Dream, on Thursday for the reintroduction of a contentious foreign-agents law. According to the proposed statute, if civil organizations acquire over 20 percent of their funding internationally, they are obliged to register as “agents of foreign influence.”EU statement
The Georgian parliament had previously ratified this law in February 2023, triggering both national and internationalprotests. The EU had condemned the law as “contrary to EU values and standards” and contrary to Georgia’s claimed aspiration to join the European Union. Consequently, in response to the protests, the ruling coalition withdrew their support for the law in March 2023 without condition. Background on EU comments
However, this week, the leader of the Georgian Dream party, Mamuka Mdinaradze, reintroduced the law to parliament. He characterized organizations targeted by this law as advancing “the interests of a foreign power.”
Details about the law’s reintroduction
This sudden shift of stance has prompted “serious concerns” in the EU. In its statement, the EU underlined the previous public commitment of the Georgian government and the ruling party to unconditionally retract such legislation. The statement further expressed disappointment that these concerns are again being considered despite the vigorous public and international reactions in March 2023.European Council Comment
Critics have labelled the law as “Russia inspired” and pose a threat to the freedom of speech and press Human Right’s Watch analysis of the law. The EU concluded its Thursday statement by appealing to Georgia to “uphold its commitment to the promotion of democracy, the rule of law, and human rights.”
However, the reintroduction of the foreign-agents law is not the only controversy surrounding Georgia’s EU candidacy. Recently, Georgian Dream announced a proposed legislation looking to restrict the rights of the LGBTQ+ community, escalating the question on the state of democratic values in the country.