After long protests
Georgia’s president vetoes “Russian law”.
Tens of thousands of people in Georgia have protested against the planned “agents” law in recent weeks
© Shakh Aivazov / AP / DPA
Georgia is arguing over a law that will determine whether the country works toward EU and NATO membership or strengthens ties with Russia. Now the president opposed it – an interim success.
Georgia has officially been a candidate for EU membership since December. With the new law, a European future for the Caucasus country is hardly imaginable.
Planned media law is controversial in Georgia
The law on restricting foreign influence on civil society in Georgia was passed in third reading by the parliament in Tbilisi at the beginning of the week, despite weeks of massive protests by tens of thousands of people in Tbilisi. Zurabishvili said the law “contradicts our constitution and all European standards and therefore represents an obstacle on our European path.”
The governing majority of the Georgian Dream party approved the controversial law on Tuesday. According to this, organizations and media that are at least 20 percent financed from abroad must in future register in the former Soviet republic as bodies that “pursue the interests of foreign powers”. Critics see parallels to the law against “foreign agents” in Russia, which enables the authorities there to take massive action against critical media and organizations.
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There have been mass protests over the law in Georgia for weeks. The adoption of the law also sparked international criticism. The EU, the UN and NATO called on the government in Tbilisi to change course. The federal government also called for the law to be withdrawn.