Dr. Sonja Schiffers, Heinrich Böll Stiftung's South Caucasus Office Representative in Tbilisi, shared her evaluations regarding the new legislation in Georgia publicly known as “foreign agent law” at the press conference held at the Heinrich Böll Stiftung Istanbul Office.
The “foreign influence” regulation currently being drafted in the Turkish parliament – and its draft has not been officially shared with the related stakeholders or the public – might be inspired by the “transparency of foreign influence” regulation in Georgia.
The law in Georgia is an authoritarian attempt to suppress civic space rather than seek transparency, leading to mass protests, Schiffers said.
According to her, it is too early to observe the concrete effects of the law in Georgia, since its main provisions are not in force yet. However, the regulation can be seen as a continuation of the authoritarian pattern followed in Russia and the countries where it maintains its economic and political influence (like Hungary and Kyrgyzstan).
The law in Georgia covers almost all non-entrepreneurial (non-commercial) legal entities except those established by the state. It also covers broadcasters and other media. Organizations that receive more than 20 percent of their income from foreign sources – individual or institutional – are obliged to register as organizations pursuing the interests of a foreign power.
“But the main problem is not with the information they have to provide about the grants. The Ministry of Justice in Georgia will get access to all personal data that is stored by the organization in question, which possibly also means all communications. Therefore, you might have to show all your emails, the data of beneficiaries, or participant lists. This can also be sensitive data, which is particularly problematic for LGBTQI organizations.”
The Georgian law stipulates fines, not imprisonment, for those who do not comply.
The background of the legislation
Other highlights from Schiffers' input about the foreign agent law in Georgia are as follows:
“Over the last few years, the ruling party has crafted an increasingly conservative, illiberal, right-wing identity and agenda. The ruling party always claims that it’s the Hungarian model, not the Russian model. But then to what extent you can separate the Hungarian model from the Russian model is another question. So increasingly, we are not talking about a hybrid political regime, but hegemonic electoral authoritarianism where state institutions are monopolized by the party and independent institutions are being dismantled.”
"What is also important to mention about the context is that the ruling party back in 2018 changed the Constitution and included a provision on Euro-Atlantic integration. But this was more of a symbolic move since Georgia didn’t have a European perspective at that time and its NATO ambitions were blocked. This changed with Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, after which the government was pressured by its own population, which took to the streets, to submit an application for EU membership, together with Moldova and Ukraine. After being granted the European perspective in 2022, last year, they proposed the foreign agent law for the first time."
Schiffers also stated that civil society and the opposition's biggest trump card against the law was to call it a "Russian law":
“It is known that most Georgians see Russia as an enemy that occupies 20% of the Georgian territory. Therefore, civil society was able to easily mobilize the public against the bill. However, many activists and their families were subjected to organized physical attacks and intimidation. Many also hoped EU and US sanctions against the government could make a difference, and the US has already imposed visa bans against dozens of officials. Most CSOs said they would refuse to register as agents. Now, in order to avoid repressions, they are considering alternatives such as shifting some of the operations abroad, or even leaving the country altogether.”