The Georgian government has passed a controversial law that endangers the country’s EU course. There had previously been numerous protests and even a veto against the law. The accusation is that it was written based on the Russian model.
Despite weeks of mass protests, Georgia’s parliament has finally passed a law to tighten control over civil society. Despite criticism from the EU and USA, 84 of the 150 MPs voted for the law on Tuesday. In doing so, parliament also overrode a veto by the pro-European President Salome Zurabishvili. A simple majority is sufficient to reject the veto.
The ruling Georgian Dream party, which holds a majority in parliament, is tightening the accountability of non-governmental organizations that receive more than 20 percent of their money from abroad. She justifies this with greater transparency. On Tuesday, the debate in parliament was once again marked by strong accusations from the government and opposition. Opposition MP Anna Tsitlidze accused the political leadership of a “thoughtless policy” that would block Georgia’s path to the EU and cause many problems for the country.
Parliamentary head Shalva Papuashvili, in turn, accused the opposition MPs of acting not in the national interest, but in the interests of other countries. “This is blatant treason.”
According to a reporter from the German Press Agency, thousands of people once again gathered in front of parliament to protest against the law. The police were also on site with a large contingent. The demonstrators insulted representatives of the Georgian Dream as “slaves”, “traitors” and “Russians”.
In their view, the regulation, dubbed “Russian law,” is intended to silence critical organizations. They see parallels to the law passed in Russia against so-called foreign agents. This has been used by the Kremlin for years to suppress the opposition and independent media.
The peaceful demonstrations on the part of the protest movement in Tbilisi have been going on for weeks. Another large rally was planned for the evening. Many demonstrators fear that the authoritarian course of Georgian Dream will also endanger the ex-Soviet republic’s desired EU accession.
Representatives from Brussels had repeatedly demanded that the government withdraw the law. Experts from the Council of Europe also recently criticized the provision. In its current version, there are fundamental errors that have significant negative consequences for freedom of expression and assembly, the right to private life and the right to get involved in society, it was said from Strasbourg.
After the final adoption, the European Union itself announced consequences. “The EU has repeatedly emphasized that the law passed by the Georgian Parliament violates the fundamental principles and values of the EU,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and the EU Commission said on Tuesday evening. The decision will have a negative impact on Georgia’s path towards the EU. The EU and its member states examined all options to respond to the developments.
Specifically, the statement criticizes the fact that the new law causes setbacks in at least three of nine areas that are important for the EU accession process. These are the fight against polarization of society and disinformation as well as progress in fundamental rights and the involvement of civil society organizations. With a view to the protests against the law in Georgia, Borrell and the EU Commission said: “We continue to stand with the Georgian people and recognize the overwhelming majority’s decision for a European future for the country.”
The USA has also already announced consequences. According to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, they want to impose visa restrictions on “individuals responsible for or involved in undermining democracy in Georgia, as well as their family members.” In addition, bilateral cooperation between the USA and Georgia will be put to the test.
The Georgian government was not irritated by this. She rejected the sanctions as interference in internal affairs and declared them counterproductive. At least there was praise from Moscow: Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov denied that Russia had anything to do with the law. But he described it as “normal practice” to protect himself from external influences.
Georgia is located on Russia’s southern border and therefore on an important global political frontline. A majority of the population wants to break away from Russia. The desired accession to the EU and NATO is in the constitution. The country has had EU candidate status since December. At the same time, Moscow controls the breakaway Georgian regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, which it has recognized as independent states.