Readings from the parties: the law on foreign agents will be reviewed in Georgia by the end of March

The Georgian parliament will consider the bill on foreign agents in the second reading by the end of March, deputy of the ruling party Shota Khabareli told Izvestia. The document was adopted in the first reading on March 4. The previous law "On transparency of foreign influence" caused mass protests in the republic. However, the situation in Georgia is calm now, which can be attributed, among other things, to the closure of USAID, which funded pro-Western NGOs. How the termination of the agency's work will affect the domestic political situation in the country and what to expect from Tbilisi's relations with Washington with the arrival of the new administration in the White House — in the Izvestia article.

The Law on Foreign Agents in Georgia

The bill on foreign agents will be considered in Parliament in the second reading before the end of this month, Georgian Dream Party deputy Shota Khabareli told Izvestia.

— We will consider it in a week approximately. I can't say the exact dates, but we will consider the second reading by the end of March," he said.

The bill was passed in the first reading on March 4. This document is a copy of the American FARA (Foreign Agents Registration Act). It defines the concept of a foreign agent, regulates the registration procedure, and the submission of a financial declaration. Evading the requirements will result in criminal liability. The document also provides for the status of a foreign agent not only for non-profit legal entities with foreign financing, but also for individuals.

Last year, the Georgian authorities adopted a "simplified version" of a new draft law on transparency of Foreign Influence. This document envisaged the creation of a register of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and media outlets that receive money from foreign sources. The list includes legal entities or media that receive more than 20% of their income from abroad. Evading registration as an organization exercising the interests of a foreign state entailed not criminal liability, but a fine of more than $9 thousand.

The adoption of the law was accompanied by large-scale protests in the republic. But now, despite the consideration of the new bill, the situation in the republic is calm, says Shota Habareli.

— Everyone will be fine with accepting the document. There won't be any protests like last time. The situation is stable now, due to the limited work of USAID, among others. The organizations received funding and supplied the opposition, now they don't have this support, all the protests have subsided," he says.

How do USAID's work restrictions affect the situation in Georgia

More than 30 thousand NGOs are registered in Georgia. Earlier, the ruling Georgian Dream party conducted a study and found out that almost 90% of such organizations in the republic hide information about their monetary grants. 62% of NGOs do not provide information about donors. 97% of non-governmental organizations do not publish annual reports. 51% do not have their own web page, and 70% do not provide information about their team.

USAID did not ignore the political processes in the country. For example, the agency spent $41.7 million to finance Georgian NGOs involved in political activities, said the Speaker of the Parliament of the Republic Shalva Papuashvili. And in the 2020 parliamentary elections in Georgia, USAID funded one of the non-governmental organizations that rigged the results of its parallel vote count.

However, almost immediately after Donald Trump's return to the White House, drastic changes began at USAID. The American leader ordered the freezing of almost all funding provided by the agency, as well as the closure of several of its foreign missions.

The restriction of USAID's work will affect the situation in Georgia, and protest activity will subside there, Vadim Mukhanov, head of the Caucasus sector at the IMEMO of the Russian Academy of Sciences, tells Izvestia.

— In Georgia, as a whole, the long-term election campaign and internal political battles have ended. Many opposition leaders have also left or stopped their activities in the republic. Now the calm situation in the republic is also related to this," he says.

In Georgia, protests have not subsided for several months after the parliamentary elections that took place on October 26. After the announcement of the results of the vote, four opposition parties resigned their parliamentary mandates, and former President Salome Zurabishvili called on the population to come out to protest. The most massive actions took place in parallel with significant political events, for example, after the suspension of negotiations on European integration and during a meeting of legislators after the elections. In the first case, the protesters even tried to set fire to the parliament building. On December 29, the inauguration of the new President Mikhail Kavelashvili took place. After that, Salome Zurabishvili left the country.

Georgia-USA relations

Long before the election process, Georgia's relations with the West had significantly cooled due to the adoption of the law "On Transparency of Foreign Influence" by the ruling party. Also, at the suggestion of Dream, a law was approved in Georgia banning LGBT propaganda (the movement is recognized as extremist in Russia).

After that, the West and, consequently, the opposition began to accuse the Georgian Dream not only of cooling relations with the EU, but also of a "pro-Russian course." In the "Dream" they explained that after the outbreak of its conflict in Ukraine, calls began to appear from the West to open a second front in Georgia to confront the Russian Federation and impose sanctions against it. Such a step would lead to severe economic consequences for Georgia.

The European Union has partially stopped financial assistance to the Government of the Republic. The ruling Georgian party has decided to suspend discussions with Brussels on opening EU accession negotiations until 2028.

After the elections in the republic, the United States suspended its strategic partnership with Tbilisi under the Joe Biden administration. The State Department "condemned the excessive use of force" by law enforcement officers against the protesters, and also called on the Georgian government to "return to the path of Euro-Atlantic integration, conduct a transparent investigation of all violations in the parliamentary elections and repeal anti-democratic laws restricting freedom of assembly and expression."

On February 23, 2025, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze expressed hope that the administration of US President Donald Trump would find time to reset relations.

After the start of the dialogue between the United States and the Russian Federation, Washington's course adjustment in Georgia cannot be ruled out. But it is unlikely that it will be radical, says Vadim Mukhanov.

— The adjustment will depend on the situation in the Ukrainian direction. Both Georgia's domestic and foreign policy are directly related to this. And many steps on the part of the United States and the EU towards Georgia were taken just against the background of this conflict," he says.

In the near future, a small turn by the Georgian authorities to the East, in particular towards China, cannot be ruled out. But this does not mean a radical weakening of cooperation with Washington or Brussels, Mukhanov concluded.