TBILISI. May 28 (Interfax) - The Georgian parliament has overridden by a majority of votes the presidential veto earlier imposed on the Transparency of Foreign Influence bill.
The process of overriding the veto was completed at a plenary session on Tuesday amid the harsh criticism of the bill by opposition MPs, who claimed that its application would lead to Georgia's isolation on the international stage, as the law is "discriminatory and similar to the Russian law on foreign agents."
According to parliamentary majority MPs, the bill "On the Transparency of Foreign Influence" only stipulates that nongovernmental organizations and media receiving more than 20% of their revenue from abroad must fill out annual financial reporting declarations. The new law envisages fines for failing to submit such financial declarations to the government.
"They say Georgia cannot adopt such a law act, while similar transparency bills have been adopted in the U.S. and EU member countries, but why? This is encroachment on our sovereignty," parliament speaker Shalva Papuashvili said.