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Georgian parliament passes bill on foreign agents in first reading

The hearing took place amid a heated debate between representatives of the ruling Georgian Dream - Democratic Georgia party and the opposition

© Mikhail Yegikov/TASS

TBILISI, April 15. /TASS/. The Georgian Parliament’s Committee on Legal Issues passed the bill on foreign agents in the first reading. The committee meeting was live streamed on the parliament’s website.

The hearing took place amid a heated debate between representatives of the ruling Georgian Dream - Democratic Georgia party and the opposition.

In early April, the ruling party announced its decision to once again introduce the bill "In transparency of foreign influence" to the parliament. This happened one year after a similar initiative caused mass protests, which forced the authorities to reject the bill. The language remains the same as in previous year, with the exception of the term "agent of foreign influence." Instead, the bill uses the term "an organization conducting interests of a foreign power."

The opponents of the initiative believe that the bill will prevent Georgia’s accession to the EU.

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