The Georgian parliament passed a law to tighten checks on non-governmental organizations funded from abroad despite mass protests and a presidential veto, dismaying critics and leading the EU to vow consequences.
Lawmakers in Tbilisi overruled a veto by President Salome Zurabishvili opposing the law on Tuesday. A simple majority is sufficient to reject the veto and 84 of the 150 members of parliament voted in favour of the law.
Zurabishvili said the law, which requires organizations that receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as "foreign agents," was "Russian in its essence and spirit."
Critics say the law runs counter to European values and the aspirations of Georgian people but Georgia's parliament passed the controversial legislation last week despite angry protests in Tbilisi and pleas by the European Union and the United States not to adopt it.
Tuesday's parliamentary debate again saw fierce accusations between the government and opposition.
Opposition lawmaker Anna Zitlidze accused the governing Georgian Dream party of pursuing a "thoughtless policy" that would block Georgia's path to the EU and cause numerous problems for the country.
But parliamentary leader Shalva Papuashvili said the opposition was acting not in the national interest, but in the interest of other countries, calling their actions an "open betrayal."
Later, the European Union announced consequences, on concerns the government is acting against common European values and the aspirations of the Georgian people.
"The EU has stressed repeatedly that the law adopted by the Georgian Parliament goes against EU core principles and values," EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell and the European Commission said on Tuesday evening.
The decision will have a negative impact on Georgia's path towards the EU, he said, adding that the EU and its member states were examining all possibilities to react to the developments.
The statement specifically focused on the fact that the law's enactment leads to a backsliding on at least three out of the nine steps set out in the Commission’s recommendation for candidate status, naming disinformation, polarization, on fundamental rights and involvement of civil society organizations.
"We continue to stand with the Georgian people and recognise the choice of overwhelming majority of them for a European future for their country," Borrell and the European Commission said.
Thousands of people gathered outside the parliament in a renewed protest against the law, and a large police contingent was on hand, a dpa correspondent reported. The demonstrators insulted Georgian Dream lawmakers as "slaves," "traitors" and "Russians."
Critics say the regulation, slammed as the "Russian law," seeks to silence critical organizations and resembles a law passed in Russia to contain so-called foreign agents that the Kremlin has used for years to suppress the opposition and independent media.
Thousands of people have been demonstrating against the law and a further rally is planned in Tbilisi later this evening.
Georgia acquired the status of an EU candidate country last year, but critics fear the new law will block the path to EU membership.
Council of Europe experts also criticized the law, saying it has fundamental flaws in its current form that would have significant negative consequences for freedom of expression and assembly, the right to privacy and the right to engage in social activities.
