Demonstrations against the Russian Law will be held in front of the Georgian Parliament today, April 30. The first action is scheduled for 12:00, which coincides with the start of the plenary session where the ruling Georgian Dream intends to adopt the Russian Law in the second reading.
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Another rally in front of the legislature will start at 19:00. Additionally, a march involving students from Ilia State University and Tbilisi State University is planned for 18:00.
The Parliament Legal Affairs Committee discussed and supported the Russian Law in the second reading yesterday, April 29th.
Georgian Dream intends to accept the re-initiated Russian Law. This was one of the main messages of Bidzina Ivanishvili's anti-Western speech at the rally organized by the ruling party.
On April 3, 2024, Georgian Dream once again initiated the Russian Law on so-called Foreign Agents in the parliament, which had been withdrawn a year ago as a result of thousands of protests, and promised to never accept it again. The Russian Law requires independent media and non-governmental organizations that operate with grant support from international organizations and cannot be controlled by the government or related groups to register as Foreign Agents.
On April 17, Georgian Dream adopted the law with 83 votes in the first reading. On the same day, a statement was issued by Josep Borrell and the Commissioner for Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement, Oliver Varhelyi, stating that the final adoption of the law will have a negative impact on Georgia's progress on the EU path. According to them, the law does not comply with the basic norms and values of the European Union.
The Russian Law contradicts the 1st and 9th recommendations defined by the European Commission for Georgia, which state that in order to open accession negotiations, the authorities must ensure the free functioning of civil society in the country and combat disinformation against the European Union and its values.
