Ned Price, State Department Spokesperson responded to the draft law "On Foreign Agents" submitted in the Georgian parliament, noting that such a law could potentially undermine Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic integration.
According to Ned Price, the proposed law would stigmatize and silence independent voices of citizens of Georgia who are dedicated to building a better future for their communities.
"We are aware of the draft legislation in the Georgian parliament and are deeply concerned about its implications for freedom of speech and democracy in Georgia. We have expressed these concerns [directly] to [our interlocutors in] the Government of Georgia. The proposed law would stigmatize and silence independent voices of citizens of Georgia who are dedicated to building a better future for their communities. We believe such a law could potentially undermine Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic integration," - Ned Price, State Department Spokesperson said.
Representatives of the “People’s Power” faction, formed by the deputies who left “Georgian Dream” but remained in the parliamentary majority, announced on 14 February that they had drafted a bill on the activities of foreign-funded organizations and would officially register it in parliament in the next few days. According to the bill, the entity must apply to the National Agency of Public Registry for registration as an agent of foreign influence in January of a calendar year following the year in which it meets the above criteria. In addition, the entity registered as an agent of foreign influence must submit an electronically completed financial statement to the Agency in January of each subsequent year. Evading registration as an agent of foreign influence or failing to submit the financial declaration within the prescribed time limit is punishable by a fine of GEL 25,000 (USD 9,400).
"Statements that this legislation is based on the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) in the United States are patently false. In fact, this draft legislation appears to be based on similar Russian and Hungarian legislation [not on FARA or any other American legislation]" - Ned Price said.
