Georgia adopts Russian-inspired ‘foreign agents’ law

The Georgian parliament has adopted a “foreign agents” law despite months of street protests and warnings from Brussels that it could endanger the country’s EU accession drive.

The bill, which is expected to enter into force next month, mandates that civil rights groups and media outlets receiving funds from abroad must register with the government as “foreign agents” or face fines. Critics have said the law was inspired by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s crackdown on non-governmental organisations and independent media.

A majority of 84 MPs in Georgia’s 140-strong parliament voted in favour of the bill on Tuesday. Opposition lawmakers left the house to join demonstrators outside, who were waving EU flags and chanting “slaves” in reference to the ruling Georgian Dream party’s alleged ties to Russia.

The European Commission said it “deeply regrets” the Georgian parliament’s decision to pass a law that is in breach of EU “principles” required for the country to progress on its membership path.

“Its enactment . . . will negatively impact Georgia’s EU path,” the commission said on Tuesday, adding that it was “considering all options” in how to respond.

The decision marks a pivotal moment in the modern history of Georgia, which celebrated its 33rd anniversary of independence from the USSR this week. Despite being nominally committed to EU integration, the ruling Georgian Dream party has largely ignored the list of reforms it should be pursuing in order to start membership talks, and instead has started moving the country back into Russia’s orbit.

Tuesday’s vote marked the final step in a process that lasted several months and was accompanied by violent clashes in parliament and on the streets. Georgian president and critic of the law Salome Zourabichvili vetoed the decision earlier this month, but Georgian Dream mustered the parliamentary majority to override it.

Controlled by pro-Russian oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili, the ruling party first introduced the draft law last year, only to withdraw it after mass protests. It then reinstated the bill in April, ignoring warnings from western capitals and tens of thousands of Georgians who have joined daily protests.

The rallies have frequently escalated into violent clashes with riot police, who have used water cannons, tear gas and truncheons against demonstrators. Many protesters have ended up in hospital and dozens have been arrested.

Activists have reported Russian-style harassment, with hundreds receiving threatening calls from unknown numbers.

These callers, who claimed to “know where the relatives [of those who received the calls] live”, advised them to “be more cautious” if they did not stop participating in the protests, according to their accounts shared with the Financial Times and reports from independent Georgian media.

The law not only poses a threat to Georgia’s domestic political situation but also jeopardises all the foreign policy goals that the country has pursued over the past 20 years.

Weeks after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Georgia applied for EU membership and was granted candidate status last year. Brussels has repeatedly warned that if the “foreign agents” law passes, Georgia’s EU drive, supported by more than 80 per cent of the population, will be frozen.

The US imposed sanctions including visa restrictions on those “responsible for or complicit in undermining democracy in Georgia” and ordered a comprehensive review of all US-Georgia co-operation, US secretary of state Antony Blinken said last week.

The FT reported several EU countries had advocated for sanctions against Georgia, including suspending visa-free travel to the bloc. Georgian NGOs warn this measure will backlash on pro-European Georgians.

“Either they still do not understand the gravity of the consequences if the law is passed, or they want to pretend they do not understand,” said one of several western officials who visited Tbilisi in recent weeks.

Ivanishvili did not meet any of the European and US officials who came to Georgia and the talks with parliament members were “not extremely productive”, the delegation member told the FT.

European officials took part in the protests outside parliament, which prompted members of the ruling party to accuse them of meddling in Georgia’s internal affairs.

Last week Georgian Dream urged the US to “show respect for the Georgian state” and refrain from “insulting blackmail” with sanctions in response to the adoption of the law.

The party’s statement echoed the sentiment of the conspiratorial, anti-western speech its founder Ivanishvili delivered at a state-organised pro-government rally in late April, depicting Georgia as a victim of a “global party of war” and its alleged agents among civil rights groups.

Additional reporting by Henry Foy in Brussels

Letter in response to this article:

Egging on Tbilisi protesters risks new Russian invasion / From Tato Khundadze and Robert H Wade