Georgian parliament approves ‘foreign agents’ bill amid scuffles between lawmakers

TBILISI, Georgia — Georgia’s parliament passes the third and final reading of a “foreign agents” bill, clearing a major hurdle on its way to becoming law.

The draft now goes to Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili, who has said she will veto it, but her decision can be overridden by another vote in parliament, controlled by the ruling party and its allies.

Georgian television broadcast scuffles between ruling party and opposition lawmakers, who pushed each other and gesticulated angrily during the debate on the bill, which government critics and Western countries have criticized as authoritarian and Russian-inspired.

Opponents of the bill, seen as a test of whether the South Caucasus country stays on a path towards integration with Europe or pivots back towards Russia, have called for further protests.

The bill passes with 84 members of parliament out of 150 voting in favor.

It would require organizations receiving more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as agents of foreign influence, imposing onerous disclosure requirements and punitive fines for violations.

Opponents have dubbed the bill “the Russian law,” comparing it to Russian legislation used to target critics of President Vladimir Putin’s Kremlin.

Georgia’s government says the bill is needed to promote transparency, combat “pseudo-liberal values” promoted by foreigners and preserve the country’s sovereignty.

About 1,000 protesters picketed the fortress-like parliament building amid a major police presence during the debate, with water cannon idling nearby. On hearing the bill had passed, they shouted “Slaves!” and “Russians!”

Demonstrations have been running for weeks and typically peak in the evening, where crowds numbering in the tens of thousands have mounted some of the biggest protests seen in Georgia since it regained independence from Moscow in 1991.