Georgian parliament overrides president’s veto on ‘foreign influence’ law

Georgia’s parliament has voted to override a presidential veto on the “foreign influence” law despite mass protests and international condemnation.

The divisive bill, which requires civil society organisations and media that receive more than 20% of their revenues from abroad to register as “organisations serving the interests of a foreign power”, was approved by the parliament earlier this month.

The president, Salome Zourabichvili, later vetoed the law, which she and other critics argue is modelled on a 2012 Russian bill used to suppress pro-western groups.

But on Tuesday, as protesters gathered again outside, parliament voted to overrule her veto, setting the stage for the speaker to sign the bill into law in the coming days.

The EU has warned that the law will be an obstacle to the country’s accession to the bloc, a goal supported by up to 80% of the electorate.

In response to the vote on Tuesday, Gabrielius Landsbergis, the Lithuanian foreign minister, said: “A very sad day for Georgia and the rest of Europe. The passing of this law effectively puts Georgia’s accession to the EU on hold, with no benefit for anybody. Almost anybody,” he said.

The legislation has brought hundreds of thousands of people out on to the streets of the capital, Tbilisi, in recent months. They accuse the ruling Georgian Dream party of trying to smear dissenting voices as traitors and block the country’s EU membership aspirations.

Critics of the law also worry it will be used by the government to restrict debate in the run-up to parliamentary elections scheduled for October.

The EU foreign affairs chief, Josep Borrell, earlier on Tuesday repeated warnings that the foreign agent law would hinder the country’s future EU accession. “If the law is enacted, it will impact Georgia’s EU path,” he said, adding that the EU was preparing its response.

On Monday, seven EU member states – the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, France, the Netherlands, and Poland – called on the Georgian parliament to withdraw the foreign agent law.

“We urge you to withdraw this law and engage in a meaningful and inclusive dialogue with organised civil society and citizens,” the joined letter read.

The US has also has warned that the legislation and the government’s anti-western rhetoric is turning Georgia into an “adversary” and that Washington could pull billions in economic and military aid.

Last week, the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, announced that travel sanctions would be imposed on Georgian officials “who are responsible for or complicit in undermining democracy in Georgia”.

Members of the Georgian Dream party have defended the law, saying it is needed to stem what it deems to be harmful foreign actors trying to destabilise the South Caucasus nation of 3.7 million people.

“What continues frustrating us is the stigmatisation of this law by internal and external actors as well as their tendency for jumping to quick conclusions,” Shalva Papuashvili, the speaker of the Georgian parliament from the ruling Georgian Dream party, wrote in a letter to his European counterparts last week.