BRUSSELS: Two senior EU officials described Georgia’s new law, which goes into effect on Saturday, requiring media organisations and NGOs that accept funds from overseas to register as “foreign agents, as a “serious setback” for the nation.
In a joint statement, EU enlargement commissioner Marta Kos and EU diplomatic director Kaja Kallas claimed that “these repressive measures threaten the very survival of Georgia’s democratic foundations and the future of its citizens in a free and open society,” together with other regulations on funding and broadcasting.
They emphasised that the bill endangered Georgia’s hopes of eventually entering the European Union, calling it a tactic by the Georgian authorities to suppress dissent and restrict freedoms. They said that Georgia’s Foreign Agents Registration Act is a significant blow to the nation’s democracy.
Georgia’s statute is based on US law that requires anybody representing a foreign nation, group, or party to report their actions to the appropriate authorities. However, NGOs think it will be used to further oppress the opposition and civil society by Georgia’s illiberal and Eurosceptic administration. Daily protests against what they perceive to be an increasingly authoritarian and pro-Russian administration have shaken the Black Sea nation since late last year.
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