Georgia faces possible EU membership freeze over foreign influence law

EU officials say Georgia’s EU membership process could be terminated if the foreign influence law passed by the Georgian parliament is approved by the president

The bill requires organizations that receive foreign funding to be labeled as “foreign agents” and mirrors repressive Russian legislation used to crack down on Kremlin regime critics.

Georgia’s parliament passed the bill in its third and final reading on May 14.

The introduction of the bill in parliament sparked widespread protests across the country and criticism from the EU and the U.S.

On the day the bill was passed, the U.S. said it would be forced to “fundamentally reassess” its relations with Georgia.

“We are deeply troubled by Georgia’s Kremlin-style foreign agents legislation,” White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre told a news conference.

The bill’s introduction into the parliament has led to widespread protests across the country and criticism from the EU and the U.S.

The European Parliament overwhelmingly supported a resolution on April 25 condemning the law, emphasizing that “EU accession negotiations should not be opened as long as this law is part of Georgia’s legal order.”

On May 7, some 31 members of the European Parliament wrote to European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, asking him to freeze Georgia’s accession process if the so-called Russian law on foreign influence becomes law.

The draft law on foreign agents would require organizations receiving foreign funding to be labeled as foreign agents and subject to stricter scrutiny.  Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili is expected to veto the resolution.

Source: Newsroom