Georgian Dream Reintroduces Controversial 'On Foreign Agents' Bill Under Different Title
By Liza Mchedlidze
Thursday, April 4, 2024
Georgian Dream has recently reintroduced a legislative initiative in the Parliament of Georgia, titled the 'Transparency of Foreign Influence' bill. This reintroduction comes after a similar attempt made by Georgian Dream last year, which was ultimately withdrawn amidst widespread protests in March. Since the withdrawal of the previous "on foreign agents" law, the leadership of Georgian Dream has maintained their stance of not reintroducing the bill in any form throughout the year, until recently.
In the explanatory note of the draft law, it is stated that the purpose of the draft law is to ensure transparency regarding foreign influence:
"It is necessary to adopt a legislative act that defines the concept of an organization carrying out the interests of a foreign power and will regulate the registration of relevant subjects as an organization carrying out the interests of a foreign power and other issues related to the transparency of their activities."
At the April 3 briefing, the executive secretary of the party, Mamuka Mdinaradze, said that despite the law being withdrawn, none of their funders have taken responsibility for the "anti-state actions and their radical political agenda" of non-governmental organizations.
As Mdinaradze said, the text of the new bill will be similar to the old one, and the term "agent of foreign influence" will be replaced by "organization carrying the interests of a foreign power."
According to the deputy, the law will be adopted by the end of the spring session - the last Friday of June.
"The parliamentary majority, in consultation with the Political Council, decided to resubmit the draft law on the transparency of foreign influence to the parliament. The bill will be initiated with exactly the same text as it was last year, with one difference: instead of the term 'agent of foreign influence,' the term 'organization channeling the interests of a foreign power' will be used.
All other entries in the bill remain unchanged. We remind you that the draft law envisages only one requirement: the publication of their annual financial report by organizations receiving foreign funding, for which only financial sanctions are provided for violations. This represents the minimum standard of public accountability and transparency that any organization, even those with only a formal claim to integrity, must meet. Therefore, the content of the draft law does not even provide a minimal basis for criticism. The law will pass through all three readings by the end of the current session," Mdinaradze stated.
