EU Ambassador to Georgia, Pawel Herczynski, expresses concern about the ruling party’s reintroduction of the foreign agents bill and states that it is incompatible with EU values. He emphasizes that this law is neither European nor American, as the Georgian authorities try to convey to society.
Herczynski also stated that media freedom is especially important for a country aspiring to EU membership and that civil society should not be stigmatized under the pretext of transparency.
Here’s what Pawel Herczynski said:
“The draft law on foreign influence, in our view, is incompatible with EU values and standards. Josep Borrell (EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs) made this very clear in a statement published 24 hours after the resumption of consideration of this draft law.
Transparency should not be an excuse for limiting the space and stigmatizing civil society. Freedom of speech and the media is important for all democratic countries, including Georgia, especially as a candidate country for the EU.
I understand there are concerns about transparency. But there are other ways to ensure it.
Simply put – this is a bad law. It is neither European nor American.”
Herczynski made it clear that as Georgia stands on the threshold of EU membership, it could miss this historic opportunity if it does not make the right decision.
● On April 3, it became known that the ruling party “Georgian Dream” initiated the consideration of the draft law “On the Transparency of Foreign Influence” for the second time.
● The government’s main argument is that the transparency of non-governmental organizations operating in Georgia is in question, posing a threat to the country’s security. However, neither independent experts, nor the opposition, nor civil society believe this argument and consider that “Georgian Dream” is attempting to prolong its stay in power and laying the groundwork for the parliamentary elections in October 2024 to suppress alternative views in the country.
● The draft law on “foreign agents” was first initiated by the ruling party a year ago, in March 2023. At that time, it was passed by parliament in the first reading but was later withdrawn due to mass protests by citizens.
