Nearly three dozen opposition lawmakers in Georgia said on July 22 that they have taken steps to challenge the recently passed controversial law on "foreign agents" that has jeopardized the country's aspirations to join the European Union.
The opposition lawmakers said they signed a lawsuit to challenge the legislation, a necessary step before it can be submitted to the Constitutional Court.
The "foreign agent" law, analogous to one passed a decade ago in Russia, was pushed through parliament by the ruling Georgian Dream party and adopted in May-June despite a presidential veto and weeks of protests.
The only opposition party represented in the parliament, Girchi, refused to join other opposition lawmakers in the move, saying the Constitutional Court is not independent and there is no sense to appeal the unpopular law with it.
The law's fierce critic, President Salome Zurabishvili, appealed the controversial legislation with the Constitutional Court on July 16.
In May, several nongovernmental organizations in Georgia also said they will challenge the law in question with the Constitutional Court and lodge a complaint at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).
The Georgian Dream-dominated parliament overrode Zurabishvili's veto with an 84-4 vote in the 150-seat parliament on May 28.
On June 4, the speaker of parliament, Georgian Dream member Shalva Papuashvili, signed the bill into law.
On June 24, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the European Union will downgrade political contacts with Georgia and consider freezing financial aid to the Tbilisi government after it pushed the law through.
"If the government does not change the course of action, Georgia will not progress on the European Union path," Borrell said.
He also said the EU would reconsider its support for Georgia through a military aid fund, the European Peace Facility.
Critics say the legislation was introduced by Georgian Dream, founded by Russian-friendly Georgian tycoon Bidzina Ivanishvili, in order to cement the party's grip on power ahead of elections later this year seen as crucial for Georgia's Euro-Atlantic aspirations.
The law requires civil-society and media organizations that receive more than 20 percent of their funding from foreign sources to submit to oversight that could encompass sanctions for as-yet-undefined criminal offenses.
Both the United States and the European Union have warned Georgian Dream that ignoring criticism and cracking down violently on protesters will have negative consequences.
Georgia obtained the coveted EU candidate status in December, but it has yet to start actual accession talks, which could last for years.
Georgian Dream has insisted it remains committed to joining Western institutions and the law was only meant to increase transparency on NGO funding.
But Western governments and organizations have issued stark statements, warning the Georgian Dream government that the Tbilisi's EU path will be blocked if the law comes into force.
With reporting by Civil.ge, Apsny.ge, and Interpressnews.ge