The European Parliament urged not to start negotiations with Georgia on EU membership due to the law on “foreign agents”

On April 25, the European Parliament voted for a non-binding resolution calling on the EU not to start membership negotiations with Georgia while the law "On transparency of foreign influence" is in force.

425 MEPs voted for the resolution, 25 were against, 30 abstained.

As "Echo Kavkazu" writes, in the document, the European Parliament condemned the re-introduction of the draft law on "foreign agents" to the parliament and noted that it does not correspond to the values of the European Union, contradicts Georgiaʼs ambitions to join the bloc, harms the countryʼs reputation and endangers its Euro-Atlantic integration

The European Parliament also approved amendments to the document, according to which it called for the introduction of sanctions against billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, the head of the ruling party "Georgian Dream", as well as the release from prison of the former president of the country, Mikheil Saakashvili.

What is wrong with the draft law on "foreign agents"

The draft law on "foreign agents" has already been put to a vote for the second time — this was done by the ruling party "Georgian Dream". Last year in March, this political force was forced to withdraw the initiative after large-scale protests, but now they have returned to it again.

The new draft law almost completely repeats the previous one, but the wording "agent of foreign influence" has been changed to "organization pursuing the interests of a foreign power."

The draft law obliges non-governmental companies and mass media that receive more than 20% of funding from abroad to register as an organization pursuing the interests of a foreign power. Opposition parties and independent journalists call the draft law "Russian", because after the vote, Moscow uses it as a tool to persecute independent media and opposition politicians. Critics say that the adoption of the law in Georgia will not only hit independent media and activists, but will also become a serious obstacle on Tbilisiʼs path to the EU.

The EU representative for foreign affairs and security policy, Josep Borrell, also emphasized that the draft law is incompatible with EU values and standards and contradicts Georgiaʼs declared goal of joining the EU. Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili promised to veto the law.

The Kremlin approved the "Georgian Dream" initiative — they say that Russia is interested in stability in Georgia, and laws on foreign agents are passed almost everywhere, because "no one wants interference in their affairs."