European Parliament to vote on a resolution on Georgia’s law on "foreign influence"

The European Parliament votes today on a resolution on Georgia’s law on “foreign influence” that the governing Georgia Dream party intends to adopt in the face of strong condemnation from the West and at home.

For the last 10 days, thousands of Georgians – many in their late teens and early 20s – have been bringing the traffic of the capital, Tbilisi, to a standstill.

They demand that the government scrap plans to introduce a controversial bill – dubbed the “foreign agent” law – many say is inspired by authoritarian legislation neighboring Russia uses to crush dissent.

On 17 April, parliament passed the bill in its first reading – the first of three barriers it must overcome before becoming law.

Under the bill proposed by the ruling Georgian Dream party – which has been in power for the last 12 years – NGOs and independent media that receive more than 20% of their funding from foreign donors would have to register as organizations “bearing the interests of a foreign power”.

They would also be monitored by the Justice Ministry and could be forced to share sensitive information – or face hefty fines of up to 25,000 GEL ($9,400; £7,500).

Because NGOs and civil society organizations in Georgia are involved in election monitoring, protesters are also concerned the bill could be used to crush critical voices ahead of the parliamentary elections later this year.

Source: The BBC