Georgian Parliament approves bill on transparency of foreign influence in final hearing

The Georgian Parliament on Tuesday adopted in the final hearing the bill on transparency of foreign influence, reintroduced by the ruling Georgian Dream party on the backdrop of ongoing public protests.

The legislative piece, 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, was supported by 84 MPs in the 150-member lawmaking body, with 30 voting against.

It requires groups “considered to be an organisation pursuing the interests of a foreign power” to be registered in the public registry with the status and publicise their received funding.

President Salome Zourabichvili on Sunday said she would veto the legislative piece, however the ruling party has enough votes to override her veto in the Parliament.