{"id":354870,"date":"2024-04-19T12:20:58","date_gmt":"2024-04-19T10:20:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/2024\/04\/19\/georgia-proteste-legge-russia-ue\/"},"modified":"2024-04-24T15:43:51","modified_gmt":"2024-04-24T13:43:51","slug":"organized-and-spontaneous-protests-against-the-foreign-agents-law-have-been-continuing-for-days-in-georgia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/2024\/04\/19\/organized-and-spontaneous-protests-against-the-foreign-agents-law-have-been-continuing-for-days-in-georgia\/","title":{"rendered":"Organized and spontaneous protests against the Foreign Agents Law have been continuing for days in Georgia"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brussels – The road to Georgia’s parliament vote on the controversial Transparency of Foreign Influence\u00a0bill as the last act of the ruling Georgian Dream party before it returns to the polls on Oct. 26 has been on fire. Harsh\u00a0protests have been\u00a0taking place\u00a0uninterruptedly in\u00a0<\/strong>the past four days in the capital, Tbilisi,\u00a0<\/strong>more precisely on Rustaveli Avenue that overlooks the Parliamentary building, spurred by tens of thousands of demonstrators<\/strong> who oppose a law that is very similar to the one in force in neighboring and feared Russia. And from Brussels, all EU institutions have once again sided with the Georgian citizens and their aspirations to one day enter the Union, just as they did a year ago.<\/p>\n

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\"Georgia<\/a>
Georgian demonstrators in Tbilisi against the ‘foreign influence transparency’ law, April 17, 2024 (credits: Giorgi Arjevanidze \/ Afp)<\/figcaption><\/figure>
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After the first the resumption of protests<\/a> early last week, the demonstration expanded to more than ten thousand protesters on Monday (Apr. 15) to become\u00a0the largest ever in Georgia only two days later, when Georgian deputies adopted in the\u00a0first reading<\/strong> the bill slightly amended from the one proposed – and then withdrawn due a landslide of\u00a0demonstrations – in March 2023. According to the controversial bill,\u00a0all organizations that receive more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad will have to register as an ‘organization pursuing the interests of a foreign power’\u00a0<\/strong>and no longer as an ‘agent of foreign influence’ (as\u00a0has been in effect in Russia since Dec. 1, 2022). For pro-democracy opposition groups in the country, the substance has\u00a0not changed from a year ago, which is why, to coincide with this week’s appointment in Parliament, they decided to call for the demonstrations.\u00a0After<\/strong> three days of organized protests last night (Apr. 18), thousands of Georgian citizens spontaneously returned to Rustaveli Avenue <\/strong>to demonstrate how strongly the issue of the path to EU membership is felt,\u00a0despite incidents of violence by law enforcement.<\/p>\n

\u00a0“We are concerned about reports of the use of force by riot police to disperse protesters demonstrating against the controversial bill<\/strong>,” is the joint statement<\/a> of key MEPs with jurisdiction over Georgia (Foreign Affairs Committee Chair, David McAllister<\/strong>, the Chair of the Delegation for Relations with the South Caucasus, Marina Kaljurand<\/strong>, and the Permanent Rapporteur on Georgia, Sven Mikser<\/strong>). The three members of the EU Parliament made it clear that “the right to peaceful protests is a fundamental right and needs\u00a0to be rigorously\u00a0respected, especially in a country aspiring to EU membership.” Precisely in this regard, the Transparency of Foreign Influence bill\u00a0is called “an attack on independent media and civil society organizations,” which not only “is incompatible with the democratic values and principles of the EU” but also puts “at risk the country’s Euro-Atlantic integration.” <\/strong>European Council President\u00a0Charles Michel a few days ago had also warned<\/a> that the bill “will bring Georgia further away from the EU and not closer.”<\/p>\n

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Georgian demonstrators in Tbilisi against the ‘foreign influence transparency’ law, April 9, 2024 (credits: Vano Shlamov \/ Afp)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/figure>\n

Similar words were used by the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell<\/strong>, and the Commissioner for Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement, Oliv\u00e9r V\u00e1rhelyi<\/strong>, in a joint statement<\/a>: “This is a very concerning development, and the final adoption of this legislation would negatively impact Georgia\u2019s progress on its EU path. <\/strong>\u00a0This law is not in line with EU core norms and values.” of the Union that Tbilisi aspires to join, particularly after receiving the EU candidate country status<\/a> on December 14, 2023,\u00a0from the European Council (also conditional on progress on the\u00a0EU Commission recommendations on civil society freedom and combating disinformation). In the run-up to the final vote in Parliament scheduled for May 17<\/strong>, EU institutions continue to urge the ruling party to “refrain from adopting” legislation that would undermine the foundations of the EU rapprochement path “supported by the overwhelming majority of Georgian citizens.”<\/strong> In other words, it would risk bringing the EU accession process to a halt for the country.<\/p>\n