The North Atlantic Alliance Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, has stated that he is against Georgian Dream's re-initiation of the bill on Foreign Agents or Foreign Influence. Stoltenberg fears that the law will actually affect the media and undermine democracy.
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Ketevan Kardava, a journalist from Imedi TV company, asked Stoltenberg a question on this issue at a press conference held in Brussels on April 4.
"The question concerns Georgia and the re-submitted draft law on transparency and foreign influence in the Parliament. Members of the ruling party and government officials said it's all about transparency and accountability to the public. Can you tell us more and explain why the draft law requiring organizations to submit their annual financial reports is a matter of concern in NATO?" This is how the journalist formulated the question, to which the NATO Secretary General answered:
"I oppose any attempt by the Georgian government to reintroduce the draft legislation on foreign agents or foreign influence, as this is actually an effort against strengthening democratic institutions in Georgia.
Georgia needs to work on reforms to get closer to NATO and the European Union, and the European Union has been very clear about this. I visited Tbilisi, Georgia a few weeks ago and, of course, one of my main messages was the importance of reforms, and strengthening democratic institutions, and the Georgian people made it clear that they want a democratic, prosperous future in the Europe, Euro-Atlantic family.
So, I'm afraid that any law that introduces this idea of "foreign agents" will have an impact on media outlets that also operate in Georgia, undermining the very idea of making Georgia a stronger and more democratic society," Stoltenberg said.
The return of the law on so-called agents by Georgian Dream was also criticized by the European Union. The spokesperson for the European External Action Service, Peter Stano, reminded the authorities of the 1st and 9th recommendations, according to which, to open accession negotiations, the authorities must ensure the free functioning of civil society in the country and combat disinformation against the EU and its values.
Georgian Dream intends to have the parliament adopt the Russian law on so-called foreign agents in all three readings by the end of the current session, which it refused to do in March 2023 due to protests and international pressure. The text of the draft law will be the same. Only the term “agent of foreign influence" will be replaced by the term "organization carrying the interests of a foreign power." The Georgian Dream executive secretary, Mamuka Mdinaradze, noted that even in the event of a bigger protest than last year, the law will not be withdrawn.
Until now, the leaders of Georgian Dream had declared that they would not revisit the draft law and that this issue was closed. The honorary chairman of the party, Bidzina Ivanishvili, supports the reintroduction of Russian law.
Similar legislation was passed in Russia in 2013, and its goal is not transparency but the suppression of people or organizations that criticize the government's activities.
