Great Britain also criticizes the Russian law reintroduced by the ruling Georgian Dream and states that it will prevent Georgia's friends and strategic partners from continuing to help the country.
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“The UK is concerned by the re-introduction of a draft law on “transparency of foreign influence” in Georgia and accompanying rhetoric about donors' alleged interference in Georgian internal politics.
UK support for civil society and independent media has long been a core pillar of the UK's partnership with Georgia. The proposed law, if finally adopted, risks impeding the ability of Georgia’s friends and strategic partners to continue to assist its democratic and economic development.
The UK reaffirms its commitment to supporting Georgia’s efforts to implement the legislative and other reforms necessary for Georgia's future membership of Euro-Atlantic institutions,” the statement by the British Embassy says.
Georgian Dream has returned to the parliament and intends to adopt the draft law on so-called foreign agents before the end of the current session, a law it had rejected a year ago due to a large-scale public protest. The party had promised to withdraw it "unconditionally, without any reservations." The text of the draft law remained the same; only the term "agent of foreign influence" was replaced with "organization carrying out the interests of a foreign power."
The Russian law has been criticized by the United States of America, the European Union, NATO, the United Nations, and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). They believe that such a law would divert Georgia from its European path and negatively affect the work of independent non-governmental and media organizations.
Today, on April 12, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, during a meeting with Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, expressed hope that the Georgian Parliament would not adopt the law on so-called foreign agents and would take into account the critical position of the European Union and the population of Georgia.
