Georgia: Transparency of foreign influence law incompatible with the EU path

On 17 April 2024, Georgia's Parliament passed the "Law on Transparency of Foreign Influence" in its first reading, reintroducing a previous text that was suspended a year ago.

As house of European organised civil society, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), has built strong relations with Georgia's vibrant and mature civil society, who has taken the street alongside Georgian people against this law. We are contributing to the implementation of the EU-Georgia Association Agreement through our EU-Georgia civil society platform. The recently launched initiative to involve Enlargement Candidate Members from the EU's candidate countries, including 15 from Georgia, in the EESC's advisory work is another step for a gradual integration of the country into European structures.

Therefore, we are deeply concerned by this discriminatory initiative targeting civil society organisations, including employers' associations, trade unions and media. The law on "Transparency of Foreign Influence" is in clear contradiction with the values and principles of the European Union. If endorsed next week, the proposed legislation could hinder independent media organisations working to provide Georgians with access to high-quality information, stigmatise them, and limit freedom of expression.

We call on Georgian authorities to respond to the demands of the overwhelming majority of the population as regards EU integration and not to adopt the legislation next week, which potentially jeopardises the European future of Georgia as enshrined in the country's Constitution.