Georgian parliament ignores protests to pass 'foreign agent' bill
Georgian protesters rally against the controversial "foreign influence" bill in Tbilisi, Georgia, May 14, 2024. (AFP Photo)


Georgia's parliament ignored mass weekslong protests to adopt a controversial "foreign influence" law on Tuesday.

The move comes as Brussels warned the measure would undermine Tbilisi's European aspirations.

Lawmakers voted 84 to 30 to pass in its third and final reading of the law, which was widely denounced as mirroring repressive Russian legislation used to silence dissent.

The vote came as street protests continued outside the building for over a month.

Scuffles had broken out inside the chamber earlier as opposition MPs, who strongly oppose the measure, clashed with lawmakers from the ruling Georgian Dream party ahead of the vote.

There were also clashes between riot police and protesters outside the building in the center of Tbilisi.

Critics say the bill is a symbol of the ex-Soviet republic's drift closer to Russia's orbit over recent years.

Around 2,000 mainly young protesters gathered outside parliament for another day of protests on Tuesday.

"No to the Russian law," they chanted as news that the parliament had adopted the bill spread through the crowd.

Tbilisi has seen weeks of mass rallies over the bill that culminated on Saturday, when up to 100,000 people took to the streets in the largest anti-government rally in Georgia's recent history.

The EU has said the law is "incompatible" with Georgia's longstanding bid for joining the 27-nation bloc, while Washington has warned its adoption would signal Tbilisi's departure from the Western orbit.

Both protesters and Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze have vowed not to back down.

"We will protest until this Russian government will leave our country," said 20-year-old Salome outside parliament on Tuesday.

Fresh rallies have been called for Tuesday evening.

Fears for EU integration

The bill requires NGOs and media outlets that receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as bodies "pursuing the interests of a foreign power."

Russia has used a similar law to silence public figures and organizations that disagree with or deviate from the Kremlin's views.

The EU repeated on Tuesday its position that the bill undermines Tbilisi's desire to move closer to the bloc.

"EU member countries are very clear that if this law is adopted it will be a serious obstacle for Georgia in its European perspective," said its spokesman, Peter Stano.

Last year, Georgia was granted official EU candidacy, and Brussels is set to decide in December on the formal launch of accession talks -- an unlikely prospect after the law's adoption.

Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili – who is at loggerheads with the government – has vowed to veto the law, though Georgian Dream has enough MPs to override it.