Georgia's parliament pushes ahead with controversial law

Despite ongoing protests, the parliament in Georgia has passed a controversial law which aims to restrict foreign funding to non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
At first reading, a total of 83 of the 150 members of parliament voted in favour of the draft law, which opponents say is styled after similar Russian legislation, a dpa reporter in Tbilisi has learned. Three readings are required for the law to be adopted.
Two protesters were reportedly detained outside the parliament building.
The hotly debated law is based on similar rules in Russia, which is why critics in Georgia refer to it as a "Russian law." It stipulates that NGOs that receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad must disclose these sources.
The Georgian government says it wants to ensure greater transparency and control the extent of foreign influence more closely.
Many projects in Georgia depend on foreign funding, and opponents of the new law accuse the government of attempting to weaken pro-Western forces.
Critics fear that such a law could be misused, as in Russia, to stop these flows of money and politically persecute pro-Western forces.
The pro-European Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili, who is at loggerheads with the conservative nationalist government, criticized the fact that the draft law is being adhered to despite the protests. She said it was a provocation and played into the hands of the Russian strategy of destabilizing Georgia.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze told journalists that critics from abroad, including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, had not provided any arguments as to what was wrong with the law.
Without arguments, there was no reason for the government to change anything about the plan, he said. What was needed was an open discussion, he added.
Georgia is "a small but independent and proud state," said Kobakhidze. "We don't allow anyone to dictate to us without arguments."
The former Soviet republic has been an official EU accession candidate since December 2023. The draft law, which the government nevertheless wants to push through before the parliamentary elections in the autumn, was also sharply criticized by Brussels.
The move is seen as jeopardizing Georgia's bid to join the European Union. Last year, the ruling Georgian Dream party postponed the bill following mass protests.