EU Membership in Peril: Georgia’s New Foreign Agents Bill Explained  

By Manal Mouaid

TBILISI – Georgia’s journey towards EU membership is like a rollercoaster ride—full of twists, turns, and unexpected detours. The Caucasus Country has been hard at work, rolling up its sleeves and tackling the tough stuff—political reforms, economic restructuring, and institutional modernization. Ever since gaining independence in 1991, it has made significant strides towards aligning its governance structures with EU standards.
From the bustling streets of the capital to the quaint villages of the countryside, Georgians share a collective dream of forging closer ties with their European neighbors and becoming part of the larger European family.

But dreams alone are not enough to secure EU membership. Once viewed as a front runner, an example to follow in the EU’s eastern neighborhood, the Country has now been experiencing democratic backsliding for the past few years, which cast doubts on Georgia’s readiness for joining the EU. 

Georgia’s “foreign agents” Bill

If the political situation wasn’t already fragile, as per the 15th of May 2024 the situation has only worsened. Georgia’s Parliament passed its new “transparency of foreign influence” Bill, also known as “foreign agents” – despite mass protests against it that have taken place in the Capital, Tbilisi, for the past few weeks. 

 The new law will require organizations that receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as “agents of foreign influence”. If they refuse to do so, they will be met with a hefty fine of 25,000 lari (€8,361), followed by additional fines of 20,000 lari (€6,689) for each month of non-compliance thereafter. 

The law was approved by 84 lawmakers voting in favor to 30 against it. After the vote, riot police moved on protesters in Tbilisi after some individuals smashed down the barriers and broke into the Parliament.

Georgia’s Parliament now has 10 days to send the Bill to President Salome Zourabichvili, who has already vowed to veto it. Zourabichvili has two weeks to do so, but the Parliament can override her objection with a simple majority.

The Bill has become a cultural flashpoint in a Country which, like Ukraine, finds itself caught between Russia and Europe. Polls show that an estimated 89% of Georgians want to join the EU, but Moscow’s geopolitical orbit has proven tough to exit. 

Zourabichvili said the upcoming elections in October 2024 would give the population a chance to “reverse” it. “We have to use this mobilization of the society and this consolidation of the political parties to go and win those elections because that’s the European way” she said during an interview with CNN. 

What makes it so controversial and scary? 

The law is based on a similar one in Russia that the Kremlin has used to increasingly crush dissent and civic community. Many Georgians fear their foreign agents’ law will be applied to the same way it has been in its northern neighbor: to suppress freedom of expression and opposition by going after NGOs with financial ties overseas.

The law has had a devastating impact on NGOs and human rights groups in Russia, forcing many of these to cease their activities. 

But the law’s possible passage has touched on a more existential query: will Georgia’s future lie with Europe or Russia?

The big majority of Georgians feel deep hostility toward the Russian government, which invaded Georgia in 2008 and took control of about 20% of its internationally recognized territory: the regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The Georgian Dream, the country’s ruling party,  has long been accused of having pro-Russian inclinations, especially given that Ivanishvili made his fortune in the Soviet Union. As expected, it argues that this legislation will promote transparency and national sovereignty.

What is more, it has been accused of expanding control over state institutions and security forces, interfering on civil society work and independent media, and committing election malpractice (such as voter intimidation or vote-buying). The party won the last three parliamentary elections since 2012 largely because of widespread disapproval of former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili’s misconduct during the later years of his presidency. However, the former reformist leader, who has referred to himself as a “political prisoner” and is being confined at a hospital in Tbilisi, is viewed as a metaphor for the situation of Georgian democracy. 

Hasn’t Georgia already been through this? YES

This “new” law was already known in the Country; first proposed by the Georgian Dream party, it was withdrawn after a first wave of protests. 

Georgian people began to worry that Tbilisi’s efforts to join the European Union could vanish into thin air. As a result, many nationals massively protested in front of the Parliament, as it is happening now, carrying blue-starred flags, and demanding the abolition of the law. The iconic video of Nana Malanchkhia, the woman drowning in water but sustained by other protesters, quickly became the symbol of the riots. 

The Bill was however re-introduced in March this year after a new Prime Minister, Irakli Kobakhidze took office, leading to new protests that were met with violent arrests and abuses by masked police officers. 

Could the law impact Georgia’s ability to join the EU? DEFINITELY.

Georgia first applied for EU membership in 2022 and was granted candidate status in December 2023, an important but still early step in the process of becoming a member of the bloc. However, Brussels said last month that the law’s passage would “negatively impact” Georgia’s path to EU membership. 

“Georgia has a vibrant civil society that contributes to the country’s successful progress towards EU membership. The proposed legislation would limit the capacity of civil society and media organizations to operate freely, could limit freedom of expression and unfairly stigmatize organizations that deliver benefits to the citizens of Georgia,”

 EU officials said.

“The EU urges Georgia to refrain from adopting legislation that can compromise Georgia’s EU path, a path supported by the overwhelming majority of Georgian citizens.