Georgia’s President Vetoed the Foreign Agents Bill
The Georgian president vetoes the foreign influence bill. Will Prime Minister Kobakhidze overturn the veto with a simple majority?
Image Source: The Indian Express
Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili has vetoed “the foreign influence bill” that had sparked massive protests in the country. She stated, “Today I vetoed the Russian law. This law, in its essence and spirit, is fundamentally Russian, contradicting our constitution and all European standards. It thus represents an obstacle to our European path. This law must be repealed!”
The critics have said this bill resembles Russian legislation used to silence dissent. The law requires that any NGOs and media outlets receiving more than 20% of their funding from outside Georgia need to register as pursuing the interests of a foreign power. If they refuse to do so and disclose sensitive information about foreign funding, they’ll face a fine of 25,000 lari ($9360), with additional fines of 20,000 lari ($7490) for each month of non-compliance.
But there’s a catch: the parliament also has enough votes to overturn the president’s veto. This veto has only delayed the proposed legislation, not blocked it. The Georgian parliament can override the veto with an additional vote.
In fact, the country has been getting warnings from Brussels that the law has the potential to quash Tbilisi’s European aspirations. The critics have also argued that this law could limit press freedom in the country.
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