Georgian Parliament Passes Controversial Foreign Agents Law on First Reading

The Georgian parliamentary majority supported one of the bills regarding the registration of foreign agents on Tuesday during its first reading. Opposition factions voted against it, as reported by Interfax.ru.

The draft law on "Transparency of Foreign Influence," developed by a group of lawmakers from the "People’s Power" faction, was adopted on its first reading. Another draft law on the registration of foreign agents is a Georgian translation of the American law passed in 1939 to combat fascism.

Both bills will be sent to the Venice Commission of the European Council for an expert review at the request of the parliamentary majority, after which the bills will be heard and adopted in second and third readings.

The discussion of the bills on Tuesday took place against the backdrop of representatives from the parliamentary majority, who are convinced of the necessity of adopting this law, and the opposition, which believes that Georgia is, in this way, shifting its political course from European integration towards Russia.