Georgian president vetoes ‘foreign agents’ bill after widespread opposition

CNN
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Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili has vetoed a controversial “foreign agents” bill that has sparked weeks of widespread protests across the country.

Zourabichvili had previously vowed to torpedo the bill, but her veto could still be overridden by a simple majority in Parliament, which approved the bill on Tuesday with 84 MPs voting for and 30 against.

The controversial legislation would require organizations receiving more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as “agents of foreign influence” or face fines. Opponents say the bill is modeled after similar laws in Russia that the Kremlin has used to stifle opposition and civil society.

“This law, in its essence and spirit, is fundamentally Russian, contrary to our constitution and all European standards,” President Zourabichvili said after vetoing the bill on Saturday.

She said the bill should be repealed, suggesting it could prevent the country from joining the European Union. The EU had issued similar warnings.

Georgia applied to become an EU member in 2022 and was granted candidate status in December, a move seen as an effort to reverse the former Soviet republic’s drift toward Russia.

Georgia has long been stuck between Russia and the West. Although they gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 and polls show that around 80 percent of Georgians want to join the EU, their history with Moscow hampers their relations with Europe.

Georgia’s attitude towards Russia is decidedly mixed. The two countries have had no formal diplomatic relations since Russia invaded Georgia in 2008 – but Russians who live and work there enjoy lax visa requirements, making them an easy choice for those who have fled the country. Russian conscription in the war in Ukraine.