{"id":74727,"date":"2024-04-17T21:11:37","date_gmt":"2024-04-17T18:11:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/akhaltskha.net\/2024\/04\/17\/georgia-will-not-back-down-over-foreign-agent-bill-pm-says\/"},"modified":"2024-04-17T21:11:37","modified_gmt":"2024-04-17T18:11:37","slug":"georgia-will-not-back-down-over-foreign-agent-bill-pm-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/akhaltskha.net\/?p=74727&lang=en","title":{"rendered":"Georgia will not back down over \u2018foreign agent\u2019 bill, PM says"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n
\n
<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\n
\n Georgia\u2019s parliament on Wednesday (April 17) approved the first reading of a bill on \u201cforeign agents\u201d that the European Union said risked stifling freedoms and blocking the country\u2019s path to membership.<\/div>\n
\n \u00a0<\/div>\n
\n The fate of the bill is widely seen as a test of whether Georgia, 33 years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, intends to pursue a path of integration with the West or move closer towards Russia.<\/div>\n
\n \u00a0<\/div>\n
\n Eighty-three of 150 deputies voted in favour while opposition MPs boycotted the vote. The bill, which has provoked days of protests, must pass two more readings before becoming law.<\/div>\n
\n \u00a0<\/div>\n
\n It would require organisations receiving more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as agents of foreign influence, and has been compared by critics to a law that Russia has used extensively to crack down on dissent.<\/div>\n
\n \u00a0<\/div>\n
\n Soon after the vote, the EU said in a statement: \u201cThis is a very concerning development and the final adoption of this legislation would negatively impact Georgia\u2019s progress on its EU path. This law is not in line with EU core norms and values.\u201d<\/div>\n
\n \u00a0<\/div>\n
\n It said the proposed legislation \u201cwould limit the capacity of civil society and media organisations to operate freely, could limit freedom of expression and unfairly stigmatise organisations that deliver benefits to the citizens of Georgia\u201d.<\/div>\n
\n \u00a0<\/div>\n
\n The EU urged Georgia to \u201crefrain from adopting legislation that can compromise Georgia\u2019s EU path\u201d. The United States and Britain have also urged Georgia not to pass the bill.<\/div>\n
\n \u00a0<\/div>\n
\n Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, in comments quoted by Interpress news agency, said Western politicians had not produced a single valid argument against the bill, and their statements would not prompt the government to change its mind.<\/div>\n
\n \u00a0<\/div>\n
\n President Salome Zourabichvili, whose role is mostly ceremonial, said she would veto the law if it was passed. But parliament has the power to override her veto.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Georgia\u2019s parliament on Wednesday (April 17) approved the first reading of a bill on \u201cforeign agents\u201d that the European Union said risked stifling freedoms and blocking the country\u2019s path to membership. \u00a0 The fate of the bill is widely seen as a test of whether Georgia, 33 years after the collapse of the Soviet Union,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.1lurer.am\/images\/news\/41\/202962\/1.jpeg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-74727","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nGeorgia will not back down over \u2018foreign agent\u2019 bill, PM says -<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/akhaltskha.net\/?p=74727&lang=en\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"ru_RU\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Georgia will not back down over \u2018foreign agent\u2019 bill, PM says -\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Georgia\u2019s parliament on Wednesday (April 17) approved the first reading of a bill on \u201cforeign agents\u201d that the European Union said risked stifling freedoms and blocking the country\u2019s path to membership. \u00a0 The fate of the bill is widely seen as a test of whether Georgia, 33 years after the collapse of the Soviet Union,...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/akhaltskha.net\/?p=74727&lang=en\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MediaAnalyticCentreOfSamtskheJavakheti\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-04-17T18:11:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.1lurer.am\/images\/news\/41\/202962\/1.jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Media Analytic Centre\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.1lurer.am\/images\/news\/41\/202962\/1.jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"\u041d\u0430\u043f\u0438\u0441\u0430\u043d\u043e \u0430\u0432\u0442\u043e\u0440\u043e\u043c\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Media Analytic Centre\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"\u041f\u0440\u0438\u043c\u0435\u0440\u043d\u043e\u0435 \u0432\u0440\u0435\u043c\u044f \u0434\u043b\u044f \u0447\u0442\u0435\u043d\u0438\u044f\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 \u043c\u0438\u043d\u0443\u0442\u044b\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/akhaltskha.net\\\/?p=74727&lang=en#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/akhaltskha.net\\\/?p=74727&lang=en\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Media Analytic Centre\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/akhaltskha.net\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a44c7ba063c5d2c1b819d29d0cca660b\"},\"headline\":\"Georgia will not back down over \u2018foreign agent\u2019 bill, PM says\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-04-17T18:11:37+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/akhaltskha.net\\\/?p=74727&lang=en\"},\"wordCount\":322,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/akhaltskha.net\\\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"NEWS\"],\"inLanguage\":\"ru-RU\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/akhaltskha.net\\\/?p=74727&lang=en\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/akhaltskha.net\\\/?p=74727&lang=en\",\"name\":\"Georgia will not back down over \u2018foreign agent\u2019 bill, PM says -\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/akhaltskha.net\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2024-04-17T18:11:37+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/akhaltskha.net\\\/?p=74727&lang=en#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"ru-RU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/akhaltskha.net\\\/?p=74727&lang=en\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/akhaltskha.net\\\/?p=74727&lang=en#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"\u10db\u10d7\u10d0\u10d5\u10d0\u10e0\u10d8 \u10d2\u10d5\u10d4\u10e0\u10d3\u10d8\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/akhaltskha.net\\\/?lang=ru\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Georgia will not back down over \u2018foreign agent\u2019 bill, PM says\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/akhaltskha.net\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/akhaltskha.net\\\/\",\"name\":\"\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/akhaltskha.net\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/akhaltskha.net\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"ru-RU\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/akhaltskha.net\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Media Analytic Centre\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/akhaltskha.net\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"ru-RU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/akhaltskha.net\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/akhaltskha.net\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/07\\\/cropped-logo-a_net.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/akhaltskha.net\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/07\\\/cropped-logo-a_net.png\",\"width\":700,\"height\":161,\"caption\":\"Media Analytic Centre\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/akhaltskha.net\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/MediaAnalyticCentreOfSamtskheJavakheti\\\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/akhaltskha.net\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a44c7ba063c5d2c1b819d29d0cca660b\",\"name\":\"Media Analytic Centre\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Georgia will not back down over \u2018foreign agent\u2019 bill, PM says -","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/akhaltskha.net\/?p=74727&lang=en","og_locale":"ru_RU","og_type":"article","og_title":"Georgia will not back down over \u2018foreign agent\u2019 bill, PM says -","og_description":"Georgia\u2019s parliament on Wednesday (April 17) approved the first reading of a bill on \u201cforeign agents\u201d that the European Union said risked stifling freedoms and blocking the country\u2019s path to membership. \u00a0 The fate of the bill is widely seen as a test of whether Georgia, 33 years after the collapse of the Soviet Union,...","og_url":"https:\/\/akhaltskha.net\/?p=74727&lang=en","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MediaAnalyticCentreOfSamtskheJavakheti\/","article_published_time":"2024-04-17T18:11:37+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.1lurer.am\/images\/news\/41\/202962\/1.jpeg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Media Analytic Centre","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_image":"https:\/\/www.1lurer.am\/images\/news\/41\/202962\/1.jpeg","twitter_misc":{"\u041d\u0430\u043f\u0438\u0441\u0430\u043d\u043e \u0430\u0432\u0442\u043e\u0440\u043e\u043c":"Media Analytic Centre","\u041f\u0440\u0438\u043c\u0435\u0440\u043d\u043e\u0435 \u0432\u0440\u0435\u043c\u044f \u0434\u043b\u044f \u0447\u0442\u0435\u043d\u0438\u044f":"2 \u043c\u0438\u043d\u0443\u0442\u044b"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/akhaltskha.net\/?p=74727&lang=en#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/akhaltskha.net\/?p=74727&lang=en"},"author":{"name":"Media Analytic Centre","@id":"https:\/\/akhaltskha.net\/#\/schema\/person\/a44c7ba063c5d2c1b819d29d0cca660b"},"headline":"Georgia will not back down over \u2018foreign agent\u2019 bill, PM says","datePublished":"2024-04-17T18:11:37+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/akhaltskha.net\/?p=74727&lang=en"},"wordCount":322,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/akhaltskha.net\/#organization"},"articleSection":["NEWS"],"inLanguage":"ru-RU"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/akhaltskha.net\/?p=74727&lang=en","url":"https:\/\/akhaltskha.net\/?p=74727&lang=en","name":"Georgia will not back down over \u2018foreign agent\u2019 bill, PM says -","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/akhaltskha.net\/#website"},"datePublished":"2024-04-17T18:11:37+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/akhaltskha.net\/?p=74727&lang=en#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"ru-RU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/akhaltskha.net\/?p=74727&lang=en"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/akhaltskha.net\/?p=74727&lang=en#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"\u10db\u10d7\u10d0\u10d5\u10d0\u10e0\u10d8 \u10d2\u10d5\u10d4\u10e0\u10d3\u10d8","item":"https:\/\/akhaltskha.net\/?lang=ru"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Georgia will not back down over \u2018foreign agent\u2019 bill, PM says"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/akhaltskha.net\/#website","url":"https:\/\/akhaltskha.net\/","name":"","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/akhaltskha.net\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/akhaltskha.net\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"ru-RU"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/akhaltskha.net\/#organization","name":"Media Analytic Centre","url":"https:\/\/akhaltskha.net\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"ru-RU","@id":"https:\/\/akhaltskha.net\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/akhaltskha.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/cropped-logo-a_net.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/akhaltskha.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/cropped-logo-a_net.png","width":700,"height":161,"caption":"Media Analytic Centre"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/akhaltskha.net\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MediaAnalyticCentreOfSamtskheJavakheti\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/akhaltskha.net\/#\/schema\/person\/a44c7ba063c5d2c1b819d29d0cca660b","name":"Media Analytic Centre"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/akhaltskha.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74727","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/akhaltskha.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/akhaltskha.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/akhaltskha.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/akhaltskha.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=74727"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/akhaltskha.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74727\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/akhaltskha.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=74727"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/akhaltskha.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=74727"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/akhaltskha.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=74727"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}