Georgia silenced

Georgian hopes for European integration have taken a hit: on 28 May, the highly controversial draft law against “foreign agents” was finally adopted by the Georgian parliament. The text, which obliges NGOs and independent media to register as “pursuing the interests of a foreign power” if more than 20 percent of their funding comes from abroad, provoked several weeks of demonstrations in the country.

The bill was in fact abandoned over a year ago, but made a comeback in April 2024. It was then vetoed by President Salomé Zourabichvili (Independent), in a largely symbolic decision, which pro-Russia oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili's ruling Georgian Dream (KO, populist) party has now overruled.

Neither the threat of US sanctions, nor the prospect of undoing years of effort towards Georgia's accession to the European Union, have dampened the majority's spirits. It should be noted that the law has a dual interest: copied from a Russian text, it signals an ideological and political rapprochement with the Kremlin, while also, for some, preparing the ground for the October 2024 legislative elections.