Georgian president vetoes controversial ‘foreign influence’ law – vopbuzz
TBILISI: Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili on Saturday made a mostly symbolic veto of the “foreign influence” law that sparked unprecedented protests and warnings from Brussels that this measure would cause harm. Tbilisi‘s EU hopes.
Lawmakers from the ruling Georgian Dream party approved the law this week despite protesters expressing concern that the former Soviet republic is turning back towards Russia on a pro-Western route.
This move sparked a wave of protests unprecedented in the Black Sea country’s recent history.
“Today I veto the law, which is inherently Russian and contrary to our constitution,” Zurabishvili said in a televised statement on Saturday. said.
However, the Georgian Dream party has enough MPs in parliament to override the veto.
The bill sparked a wave of protests unprecedented in the Black Sea country’s recent history. Critics say it is similar to Russian legislation used to silence dissenters.
According to opinion polls, more than 80 percent of the population wants to join the European Union and NATO and is strongly opposed to the Kremlin.
– Warnings from the EU –
Brussels reiterated its warning on Saturday that the measure was incompatible with Georgia’s EU membership goal enshrined in the country’s constitution.
European Council president Charles Michel said on X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday that the president’s veto offered “a moment for further reflection.”
He called on MPs to “make good use of this window of opportunity” to keep Georgia on the EU path.
Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze signaled that his party is ready to consider Zurabishvili’s proposed changes to the law if he states them in the veto document.
But the so-called president, who is at odds with the ruling party, ruled out the possibility of entering into “false, artificial, misleading negotiations” with Georgian Dream.
The bill requires NGOs and media organizations that receive more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad to register as organizations that “pursue the interests of a foreign power.”
In an interview published in France’s La Tribune Dimanche newspaper, Zurabishvili, himself a former French diplomat, called on President Emmanuel Macron to come to Georgia to support their cause.
“I wrote to President Macron, I am waiting for Georgia’s independence day on May 26,” he said.
“The problem is not just Georgia, it is a matter of definitively liberating the Caucasus from the mentality of Soviet yoke and Russian influence,” Zurabishvili told the newspaper. said.
Lawmakers from the ruling Georgian Dream party approved the law this week despite protesters expressing concern that the former Soviet republic is turning back towards Russia on a pro-Western route.
This move sparked a wave of protests unprecedented in the Black Sea country’s recent history.
“Today I veto the law, which is inherently Russian and contrary to our constitution,” Zurabishvili said in a televised statement on Saturday. said.
However, the Georgian Dream party has enough MPs in parliament to override the veto.
The bill sparked a wave of protests unprecedented in the Black Sea country’s recent history. Critics say it is similar to Russian legislation used to silence dissenters.
According to opinion polls, more than 80 percent of the population wants to join the European Union and NATO and is strongly opposed to the Kremlin.
– Warnings from the EU –
Brussels reiterated its warning on Saturday that the measure was incompatible with Georgia’s EU membership goal enshrined in the country’s constitution.
European Council president Charles Michel said on X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday that the president’s veto offered “a moment for further reflection.”
He called on MPs to “make good use of this window of opportunity” to keep Georgia on the EU path.
Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze signaled that his party is ready to consider Zurabishvili’s proposed changes to the law if he states them in the veto document.
But the so-called president, who is at odds with the ruling party, ruled out the possibility of entering into “false, artificial, misleading negotiations” with Georgian Dream.
The bill requires NGOs and media organizations that receive more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad to register as organizations that “pursue the interests of a foreign power.”
In an interview published in France’s La Tribune Dimanche newspaper, Zurabishvili, himself a former French diplomat, called on President Emmanuel Macron to come to Georgia to support their cause.
“I wrote to President Macron, I am waiting for Georgia’s independence day on May 26,” he said.
“The problem is not just Georgia, it is a matter of definitively liberating the Caucasus from the mentality of Soviet yoke and Russian influence,” Zurabishvili told the newspaper. said.
