EU High Representative, Commissioner say final adoption of transparency law will “negatively impact” Georgia’s EU path

Josep Borrell, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Olivér Várhelyi, the European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, on Wednesday evaluated the controversial domestic bill on transparency of foreign influence and said its final adoption would “negatively impact” Georgia’s progress on its EU path.

The joint statement, released by the European External Action Service, followed the approval of the transparency bill, which calls for the registration of non-commercial legal entities and media outlets in the country as “pursuing the interests of a foreign power” if they derive more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad, on its first reading by the Georgian Parliament earlier today.

Today, the Georgian Parliament passed the transparency of foreign influence law in its first reading, despite repeated calls by the EU to retract such legislation, and despite the mass protests”, the officials noted in the statement, stressing the law was “not in line with the EU core norms and values”.

Borrell and Várhelyi highlighted Georgia’s “vibrant civil society that contributes to the country’s successful progress towards EU membership” and claimed the proposed legislation would “limit the capacity of civil society and media organisations to operate freely, [and] could limit freedom of expression and unfairly stigmatise organisations that deliver benefits to the citizens of Georgia”.

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