EU сriticizes 'Russian law' in Georgia Parliament: May affect membership

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The bill on “foreign agents,” recently introduced to the Georgian parliament, is incompatible with European Union values, stated the EU Ambassador to Georgia Pawel Herczynski.

“The draft law is incompatible with EU norms and EU values”, the diplomat said.

He also added that such an initiative may slow down the process of Georgia’s accession to the European Union.

It should be noted that the EU granted Georgia candidate status for EU membership in December but stated that the start of accession negotiations depends on the progress of reforms in Tbilisi.

What happened before

Last week, Georgian authorities resumed consideration of the bill on “foreign agents” in parliament. A similar law is already in effect in Russia and is used as leverage against companies that receive funding from abroad. This sparked protests in Tbilisi, with the opposition branding the initiative a “Russian law” and sharply criticizing it. On April 9, a Freedom March took place in the Georgian capital, where participants expressed support for the country’s EU accession and criticized the “foreign agents” bill.