Matthew Miller, the spokesperson of the United States State Department, responds to the adoption of the law on foreign agents in the first reading. He refers to the bill resubmitted by "Georgian Dream" as "Kremlin-inspired" and urges the government not to accept it.
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“We are gravely disappointed by the Georgian parliament’s decision to advance Kremlin-inspired “foreign influence” legislation. As the EU has stated, passage of this law could compromise Georgia’s progress on its EU path.
We join our European allies in urging Georgia not to enact legislation that goes against the wishes of the overwhelming majority of Georgian citizens — the desire to integrate fully into the EU,” Matthew Miller said in a statement.
The representative of the State Department notes that Georgia has a lively civil society that serves its citizens and works to improve the economy of Georgia.
If adopted, the proposed legislation could limit freedom of expression, stigmatize organizations that deliver these benefits to the citizens of Georgia, and impede independent media organizations working to provide Georgians with access to high quality information. Such Kremlin-inspired legislation is not appropriate if the goal is to promote transparency,” Miller notes and calls on all parties to respect the right to peaceful assembly.
Despite thousands protesting and criticism from international partners, Georgian Dream party adopted the bill in the first reading on April 17. According to the procedure, next week it should be discussed again by the legal committee, after which it will go to the plenary session. For the bill to become law, the Parliament must pass it in three readings.
The European Union called on the Georgian authorities to refrain from adopting legislation that could endanger Georgia's path to the European Union.
Against this background, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze says that "in fact, the law is European" and "it will not separate Georgia from Europe, but will qualitatively bring us closer" to the goal of achieving integration into the European Union.
