Georgian parliament speaker signs law on "foreign agents"
Kyiv • UNN
Speaker of the Georgian parliament Shalva Papuashvili signed a controversial law on" foreign agents", which requires the media to, which, according to 2023 data, received more than 20% of their income from abroad to register as organizations that "pursue the interests of a foreign force".
Speaker of the Georgian parliament Shalva Papuashvili signed the law on "foreign agents" ("on transparency of foreign influence"). He said this at a briefing in the building of the legislative body. reports UNN with reference to "echo of the Caucasus".
Details
On May 28, the Georgian parliament did not take into account the comments of President Salome Zurabishvili, overcoming her veto and finally approving the law. 84 deputies voted for overcoming the veto, while 4 voted against it.
According to the Constitution of Georgia, if the president refuses to sign after overcoming the veto, the law is signed and published by the chairman of the parliament within 5 days.
Within two months (until the beginning of August), the relevant authorities/officials must adopt/publish bylaws, and the Ministry of Justice of Georgia and the National Agency for the public register must carry out "preliminary logistical and other measures to implement this law"
Since August, Media and NGOs, which according to 2023 data received more than 20% of their income from abroad (this is the absolute majority of Georgian online media and NGOs working mainly with Western foundations), must apply for registration through the House of justice within a month as organizations pursuing the interests of foreign power.
To identify organizations that "pursue the interests of a foreign force", the Ministry of justice can conduct monitoring at any time, and an authorized official can obtain the necessary information, including personal data.
Addition
The controversial law, which critics call Russian, has sparked mass protests in the country that have been going on for several months.
The European Union stated that they were disappointed with the actions of the Georgian parliament, which overcame the president's veto on the law on "foreign agents".
