President Salome Zourabichvili says the law is “Russian in essence”, but parliament is expected to override the veto.
Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili vetoed the “foreign influence” bill that sparked unprecedented protests in the country and warnings from Brussels that the measure would harm Tbilisi’s European Union aspirations.
But Zourabichvili’s veto on Saturday is only expected to delay the proposed legislation, not block it. Parliament can override the veto with an additional vote.
“Today I established a veto… on the law, which is Russian in essence and which contradicts our constitution,” Zourabichvili said in a televised statement.
Critics have said the bill resembles Russian legislation used to silence dissent. The bill requires non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and media outlets with more than 20 percent of their funding coming from outside Georgia to register as bodies that “pursue the interests of a foreign power.”
If they refuse to do so and disclose sensitive information about foreign financing, they will receive a fine of 25,000 lari ($9,360), followed by additional fines of 20,000 lari ($7,490) for each subsequent month of non-compliance.
On Tuesday, the Georgian Parliament approved the bill proposed by the Georgian Dream party, which has been in power since 2022.
The party has enough votes in parliament to override the president’s veto by a simple majority.
Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, who belongs to the Georgian Dream, signaled his party’s readiness to consider Zourabichvili’s proposed changes to the law if she sets them out in her veto document.
But Zourabichvili – who is at loggerheads with the ruling party – ruled out the possibility of entering into “false, artificial and misleading negotiations” with Georgian Dream.
The foreign agents bill has sparked mass protests against it, rocking Georgia’s capital Tbilisi in recent weeks.
NGOs and media organizations fear they will be forced to close if they do not comply. Eka Gigauri, head of the Georgian branch of Transparency International, the anti-corruption NGO that has operated in the country for 24 years, told France24: “The implication would be that they could freeze our assets.”
Critics argued that the bill would limit media freedom and jeopardize the country’s bid for EU membership.
Opponents of the project have also said that the project will bring Georgia closer to Russia. The two former Soviet countries have had a tense relationship since Georgia’s independence following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, warned on May 1 that Georgia was “at a crossroads.”
“EU member countries are very clear that if this law is adopted, it will be a serious obstacle for Georgia from its European perspective,” added EU spokesman Peter Stano.
Georgia applied to join the EU in 2022 and obtained candidate status in December last year.
The US has also urged Georgia not to approve the bill, saying it would be inconsistent with its stated aim of joining the EU and having a relationship with NATO.
The Georgian Dream party has insisted it is committed to joining the EU and portrays the bill as aiming to increase the transparency of NGO funding.
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
