"Indeed, I do not appreciate any union that might harm the interests of my country, its future, independence, and sovereignty, for which my forefathers fought and shed their blood," said the Tbilisi Mayor, Kakha Kaladze, when discussing the Russian law on so-called Foreign Agents.
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Kaladze stated that nobody would be allowed to undermine the country's interests and sovereignty.
"Any union that opposes and hinders the country's development, sovereignty, and statehood is certainly not worth it. I have a very simple question: When we are talking about joining the European Union, why does this draft law prevent it? Someone give me one argument.
We welcome the implementation of all good projects. It is understandable how a normal person can prevent or not support such projects. However, when it comes to financing extremism or revolution, undermining the state, the state will rise to the occasion. It will do everything possible to prevent whoever it is, regardless of where the funding comes from.
Transparency is always important. I respect everyone, including Germany and America. However, the most important thing for me is my country and what people will say," said Kakha Kaladze.
Georgia's strategic partners claim that the draft law on so-called Foreign Agents poses a threat to the country's integration into the European Union.
On April 11, the European Union Ambassador, Pawel Herczynski, stated that the bill resubmitted by the ruling Georgian Dream is incompatible with European values. He also noted that if the bill is accepted, it will be very difficult for the European Commission to make a positive assessment.
MEPs have already called on the European Commission to monitor whether the decisions of the Georgian authorities correspond to the status of a candidate country.
The US State Department also stated that if the Russian law comes into force, it will divert Georgia from the European path. The law will harm civil society organizations that work to improve the lives of Georgian citizens and will hinder independent media, Matthew Miller said.
Georgian Dream reintroduced the draft law on so-called Foreign Agents, which it had rejected a year ago, following a large-scale public protest. The party promised to withdraw it "unconditionally, without any reservations" from the parliament. The text of the draft law remained the same, with the only change being the replacement of the term "agent of foreign influence" with "organization carrying out the interests of a foreign power."
The Russian law contradicts at least two of the 9 conditions set for the Georgian authorities to start EU accession negotiations: to ensure the free functioning of civil society and to combat disinformation against the EU and its values.
