The European Union's ambassador to Georgia has criticized the reintroduction of a "foreign agents" bill in parliament -- legislation compared with a similar law in Russia that the Kremlin has used to stifle dissent -- saying it's "incompatible" with the values of the bloc Tbilisi is looking to join.
The ruling party in EU-candidate Georgia last week said it planned to reintroduce a bill that would oblige noncommercial organizations and media outlets that receive foreign funding and are engaged in broadly defined "political" activities to report their activities to the authorities.
The legislation, which sparked mass protests when first introduced last year, causing the government to withdraw the bill, would also introduce wide oversight powers by the authorities and potential criminal sanctions for undefined criminal offenses.
"We are seriously concerned. These are legitimate concerns about transparency, which should not be used to justify the restriction of space and the stigmatization of civil society organizations," Pawel Herczynski said in remarks to the media at a meeting of civil society organizations.
"This bill, as it is now, is incompatible with European norms and European values, and especially in today's context, it will be very difficult for the European Commission to make a positive assessment of the adoption of the law...This law is simply not good."
The ruling Georgian Dream party announced on April 3 that it intended to reintroduce the law in parliament a year after large-scale protests forced the party to abandon its first attempt to pass the law last year.
SEE ALSO: Why Georgia's Government Is Trying (Again) To Introduce An Unpopular 'Foreign Agents' LawThis year's bill would be identical to last year's, they said, except for one change: the term "foreign agent" would be replaced by the more circumlocutious "organization pursuing the interests of a foreign power."
The party insists the bill is simply copied and pasted from U.S. legislation and does not imitate Russia's "foreign agent" law, but the newly resurrected On Transparency of Foreign Influence bill is, more than anything, a product of Georgia's homegrown struggle for political power.
And its return bodes yet another bout of internal political strife, sharper pressure on the government's opponents, and yet more stress on Tbilisi's increasingly fragile relations with its Western partners.
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Georgians March Against Russian-Style 'Foreign Agents' Law
On April 5, Washington expressed its "deep concern" over the legislation, saying the draft legislation "poses a threat to civil society organizations."
Herczynski said the bloc was in "constant contact" with the Georgian government as it looks to make strides toward eventual membership in the 27-member bloc.
But, he added, "time is running out" even though "all the ingredients are there to make progress" with reforms as Georgia looks to move to the next stage and open accession negotiations.
"These are legitimate concerns about transparency, which should not be used to justify the restriction of space and the stigmatization of civil society organizations," Herczynski said.
"Freedom of speech and media is absolutely necessary for every democracy, including Georgia, especially for a country that is a candidate for EU membership."