{"id":362258,"date":"2024-05-20T12:28:07","date_gmt":"2024-05-20T10:28:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/2024\/05\/20\/georgia-scontro-parlamento-presidente-ue\/"},"modified":"2024-05-28T19:11:24","modified_gmt":"2024-05-28T17:11:24","slug":"institutional-clash-in-georgia-between-parliament-and-president-over-pro-russian-law-frowned-upon-by-the-eu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/2024\/05\/20\/institutional-clash-in-georgia-between-parliament-and-president-over-pro-russian-law-frowned-upon-by-the-eu\/","title":{"rendered":"Institutional clash in Georgia between Parliament and President over pro-Russian law frowned upon by the EU"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brussels -In Georgia, the inevitable is materializing, and the ball of institutional confrontation is picking up speed along the inclined plane of a pro-Russian-inspired law that is continuing to cause an irreparable rupture between the governing majority and civil society\u00a0and\u00a0with the European Union, which Georgia aspires to join. The Georgian Parliament is ready\u00a0to override the veto by the President of the Republic, Salome Zourabichvili, on the law on ‘transparency of foreign influence<\/strong>‘ exacerbating the level of political tension in the country and likely putting the final stone (at least for the time being) on Tbilisi’s aspirations to move closer to EU and NATO membership.<\/p>\n

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Georgian demonstrators in Tbilisi against the ‘foreign influence transparency’ law, April 17, 2024 (credits: Giorgi Arjevanidze \/ Afp)<\/figcaption><\/figure>
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“The Transparency Law will help us ensure long-term stability in Georgia, which is necessary for our country and our people,” Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze<\/strong> reportedly said during this morning’s (May 20) cabinet meeting, two days after the Head of State’s decision to oppose the draft law – strongly desired by the ruling Georgian Dream party – because “it is Russian in its essence and contradicts our Constitution<\/strong>.” After the bill passed in the third reading<\/a>\u00a0on May 14, the Presidential veto was seen\u00a0more as a symbolic gesture than for its effectiveness: the government knew it could use its overwhelming majority in Parliament to override the veto and make the ‘transparency of foreign influence’ law, with\u00a0the fourth – and final – vote expected to come as early as over the next few days<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The law on ‘transparency of foreign influence’ had been submitted last year by Georgian Dream and stalled after massive\u00a0protests\u00a0in March 2023. With a slight amendment to the text in early April,\u00a0the law was resubmitted<\/a> by the government: All organizations receiving more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad would have to register as an ‘organization pursuing the interests of a foreign power’<\/strong> (similar to ‘agent of foreign influence’ in effect in Russia since December 1, 2022). After weeks<\/a> of acute\u00a0tension inside and outside the Tbilisi Parliament and tens of thousands of citizens staging\u00a0the most massive wave of protests<\/a> since independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 – every day continuously for almost two months now -the ruling party\u00a0decided to go ahead with its own legislative initiative before returning to the polls on October 26,\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0and showing a willingness to escalate the level of violence deployed by riot police and officers with their face covered against peaceful pro-EU protesters, alarming EU institutions in no small measure.<\/p>\n

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\"Georgia<\/a>
Georgian demonstrators in Tbilisi against the ‘foreign influence transparency’ law, May 14, 2024 (credits: Giorgi Arjevanidze \/ Afp)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/figure>\n

“Adoption of this law has a negative impact on Georgia’s progress on the path to EU membership<\/strong>,” the European Union warned<\/a> in a statement issued the day after the adoption of the draft legislation, calling on\u00a0authorities in Tbilisi and the ruling Georgian Dream party to “withdraw the law, maintain commitment to the EU path,<\/strong> and to pursue necessary reforms.” While the level of diplomatic tension between Tbilisi and Brussels is rising exponentially, the head of the European Council, Charles Michel<\/strong>, urged for\u00a0calm and “a moment of further reflection” offered by President Zourabichvili<\/strong>‘s veto: “In its current form, the law is not in line with EU values and path,” he said<\/a>, calling on “all Georgian politicians and leaders to make good use of this window of opportunity” so as not to deviate from the “European course the population supports.” Despite the Candidate country status<\/a> received on December 14, 2023, from the European Council in Brussels,\u00a0it is no longer a secret<\/a> that the entry into force of the pro-Russian-inspired law would prevent the opening of EU accession negotiations\u00a0<\/strong>since these are linked to progress on European Commission recommendations on civil society freedom and combating disinformation.<\/p>\n

The heads of state and government of the 27 EU member countries are also showing increasing concern toward the fate of Georgia, as\u00a0French President Emmanuel Macron<\/strong> and the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in a\u00a0<\/strong>joint statement<\/a> published yesterday (May 19): “It is with deep regret that we take note of the decision of the Georgian government and the ruling party to deviate from this path by acting against our common European values and the aspirations of the Georgian people.” Last Wednesday (May 15),\u00a0the foreign ministers of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Iceland joined the protest of tens of thousands of pro-EU protesters in Tbilisi<\/strong>, explaining that they were “here to support the aspirations of the Georgian people to be part of the European Union and NATO,”\u00a0 Lithuanian foreign minister, Gabrielius Landsbergis\u00a0<\/strong>said<\/a>. “I see that hope is alive.\u00a0It\u00a0is in the streets and\u00a0the hearts of all the people we met outside the Parliament.” It should not be forgotten, however, that the unity of the 27 member countries – and consequently of the Union – has been blocked by the\u00a0resistance of<\/strong> Viktor Orb\u00e1n’s Hungary<\/strong> and Robert Fico’s Slovakia to adopt a declaration by all 27 EU leaders to unequivocally condemn the law adopted by the Georgian Parliament.<\/p>\n