On Thursday 4 April, the spokesman for the European External Action Service underlined the EU’s serious concerns about the announcement by Georgia’s ruling party to reintroduce a draft law on the ‘Transparency of Foreign Influence’.
Recalling the public commitment made last year by the Georgian government and ruling party to “unconditionally withdraw” this legislation, he explained that the EU regretted that it was being considered again, despite the strong reactions from the public and the international community in March 2023. The bill was criticised for mirroring Russia’s law on foreign agents, which is used to suppress the opposition.
“Creating and maintaining an enabling environment for civil society organisations and ensuring media freedom is at the core of democracy. It is also crucial to for the EU accession process”, explained the spokesman in his press release, adding that some of the conditions for Georgia to make progress in its accession process relate to the free functioning of civil society and the fight against disinformation against the EU and its values.
“Transparency should not be used as an instrument to limit civil society’s capacity to operate freely”, warned the spokesman. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)