Georgia’s parliament speaker signs ‘foreign influence’ bill into law

ISTANBUL

Georgia’s Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili signed the controversial “foreign agents” bill into law on Monday, public broadcaster 1TV reported.

“I would like to thank the Georgian people, who once again demonstrated their wisdom and showed everyone, both at home and abroad, that there is only one side – Georgia’s side – and only one choice – to stand on Georgia’s side,” Papuashvili told a briefing in the capital Tbilisi.

Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze also commented of bill's signing into law during a cabinet meeting, saying that only the country's "ill-wishers" have lost.

"During these two months, there was a lot of misinformation about the law, there was too much emotion, which had only an artificial basis, but now the law is in force, and we all have to act pragmatically, with a cold mind, and put unnecessary emotions aside," he said.

Last week, Papuashvili said that he would sign the bill into law in line with legislation if President Salome Zourabichvili refused to do so.

His remarks came a day after the Georgian parliament overrode Zourabichvili’s veto of the bill passed by parliament last month.

The law on Transparency of Foreign Influence requires organizations, including media outlets, which receive more than 20% of their funding from overseas, to register with the state. It also requires them to publish annual financial reports.

The law, which was first introduced in March 2023, was shelved after it triggered mass protests that resulted in the arrest of 66 people and the injury of more than 50 law enforcement officers but was reintroduced to parliament in April, reigniting the protests.

Critics say the law would undermine democracy, labeling it a "Russian law," but members of the ruling majority argue it would increase transparency.