A senior EU official has warned the Georgian government that the proposed bill for "foreign agents" is unacceptable. He pointed out that if this law comes into force, it will represent a significant obstacle to Tbilisi's hopes of membership in the Union, Reuters and BTA write.
Gert Jan Köppmann, Head of Directorate "Extension" to the European Commission, he told reporters in the Georgian capital. He added that Brussels is closely monitoring the situation in Georgia and is concerned about the events there.
"We are witnessing disturbing developments surrounding the bill. In the form in which it was adopted in the second reading, the law is unacceptable and will create serious obstacles for Georgia's European path, Kopman said. "But all is not lost and there is still time. In September we will prepare recommendations (whether to start accession negotiations with Tbilisi) and in the October-November period we will come out with a report, so there is still time. But now the ball is definitely in the Georgian government's court."
Yesterday, Georgia's parliament passed a second reading of the "foreign agents" bill, which was criticized for being modeled on Russia. There were also clashes where the police resorted to the use of tear gas and stun grenades to disperse the large protest crowd that had gathered in front of the legislature building to express their position against the draft law.
The bill is expected to be considered in the third reading in about two weeks.
The current political standoff in Georgia, a country of 3.7 million people that has gone through turmoil, revolution and war since the collapse of the Soviet Union, is seen as part of a larger clash that could determine the country's future and whether it will become even closer to Europe, or it will return to Moscow's orbit of influence, notes Reuters.