A draft law modeled after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s restrictive regime on media and non-governmental organizations has sparked popular anger in Georgia and raised fears it could derail the country’s aspirations to join the EU and NATO.
Riot police used water cannons and tear gas to disperse thousands of protesters who took to the streets in the Georgian capital Tbilisi as they protested a law on “foreign agents” passed a first reading in parliament on Tuesday.
The two versions of the law under discussion would consider all Georgian NGOs and media that receive more than 20 percent of their funding from foreign sources as “foreign agents” and subject them to undefined “surveillance.”
The clashes are the latest blow to what was once the EU’s best relationship with a burgeoning member state, after years of weakening relations between Brussels and Tbilisi as EU officials say it’s a slip toward a less-democratic form of government. Tbilisi has also offered Kyiv only lukewarm support, refusing to join Western sanctions against Russia after last year’s invasion of Ukraine. That stance defies widespread public support for the war-torn country, which reflects painful memories of a disastrous five-day war with Russia that cost Georgia a fifth of its territory.
Georgian Dream, the ruling party backed by reclusive billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, has defended the bill as a measure against “spies” and “agents of foreign influence” who are said to be paid to criticize the government and the Georgian Orthodox Church .
But the US, the EU and Georgia’s own president have slammed the law, which critics say represents a throwback toward Russian-style repression, despite the constitution requiring Georgia to “take all measures” to join the EU and NATO.
Although Georgian Dream claims the move is based on a law of the same name in the US, the language more closely resembles the Russian law that Putin used to destroy civil society in the decade after he returned as president in 2012.
Salome Surabichvili, President of Georgia, said she would veto the law and supported protesters in a video shot from the Statue of Liberty in New York.
“I stand with you because today you represent a free Georgia!” she said. “A Georgia that sees its future in Europe and that nobody will be deprived of [us] this future.”
The US embassy said the trial “raises real questions about the ruling party’s commitment to Euro-Atlantic integration” and called the passage of the bills – including procedural irregularities and efforts to keep opposition lawmakers and journalists out of parliament – “a dark day.” for Georgia democracy.”
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The EU has said the law violates EU standards, undermines Georgia’s stated intention to become a member of the bloc and risks “serious repercussions on our relations”.
“The law in its current form risks having a chilling effect on civil society and media organizations, with negative consequences for many Georgians. . . This is a very bad development for Georgia and its people,” said EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.
The foreign ministers of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania said on Wednesday that the law “raises serious questions about the prospects for democracy in Georgia” and warned the country “to refrain from taking decisions that could undermine the aspirations of the Georgian people”. Moving forward towards EU and Nato membership.
The furore over the law follows a political crisis in 2021 when former President Mikheil Saakashvili was arrested and sparked protests. Then the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, personally intervened to secure an agreement between the government and other parties, but within months it was torn apart by a blow to the bloc’s perceived influence in the country.
