Georgian parliamentary committee approves bill on foreign agents in third hearing

The Legal Affairs Committee of the Georgian Parliament on Monday approved the bill on transparency of foreign influence, reintroduced by the ruling Georgian Dream party against public protests, in its third hearing, News.Az reports citing Georgian media.

The session reviewed the draft law, which calls for 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 the backdrop of the protest rally outside the Parliament.

Anri Okhanashvili, the Chair of the Georgian Parliament's Legal Affairs Committee, said that the legislation’s content changes were not discussed within the third hearing and stressed that the meeting of the Committee had been held in accordance with the procedures.

The legislative body in mid-April approved the first reading of the bill that has sparked public protests and criticism by some of the country’s foreign partners.

The Parliament will vote the bill in its third hearing within a plenary session on Tuesday.

Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili on Sunday said she would “veto” the controversial bill.

News.Az