Today, the European Parliament adopted a resolution regarding the draft law on “transparency of foreign influence”, condemning the Foreign Agents bill with 425 votes in favor, 25 against and 30 abstentions.
The joint resolution is based on the five draft resolutions proposed by MEPs on April 22 and encompasses five amendments, including the ones calling for sanctions against the Honorary Chairman of Georgian Dream, Bidzina Ivanishvili, and the withdrawal of the proposed anti-LGBTQ+ Constitutional amendments.
The resolution stresses that the draft law is contrary to Georgia’s democratic values and EU aspirations and emphasizes that “EU accession negotiations should not be opened as long as this law is part of Georgia’s legal order.” The resolution emphasizes the threat the law poses to civil society organizations and human rights in general, which “runs counter to the Copenhagen criteria for EU membership,” and calls on the European Commission to provide an interim assessment of Georgia’s implementation of the EU’s nine conditions.
The adopted amendments include calls for sanctions against Bidzina Ivanishvili; for the release of former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili (two amendments); for the European Commission to immediately assess the impact of Georgia’s draft ‘foreign agents’ law on Georgia’s continued fulfilment of the visa liberalization benchmarks; and for the government to withdraw the anti-LGBTQ+ constitutional amendments.
Related story: European Parliament to vote on a resolution on Georgia’s law on “foreign influence”
