US official concerned over Georgia’s transparency bill, fears risk to European alignment

James O’Brien, US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, has expressed worry regarding the foreign influence transparency bill resubmitted by the Georgian Dream ruling party, pointing to potential risks to Tbilisi’s European integration efforts.

“Concerned about legislative initiatives in Georgia’s Parliament that risk moving Georgia away from Europe.  The U.S. will always speak up in defense of human rights for all, including freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly”, the official tweeted on Wednesday. 

Freedom March was conducted along Rustaveli Avenue in Tbilisi, stretching from the First Republic Square to the Georgian Parliament building, on Tuesday, where civil activists, media representatives, and members of non-governmental organizations were rallying against the bill. 

The proposal, announced by the Georgian Dream party on April 3, has sparked widespread opposition. Similar attempts to introduce such a law in March 2023 triggered massive protests, eventually leading to the withdrawal of the bill by the ruling party.

During a briefing on April 3, Mamuka Mdinaradze, the executive secretary of the GD party, remarked that despite the withdrawal of the previous bill, “none of the [opposition] party’s backers” had taken responsibility for what they perceive as “anti-state activities and their radical political agenda” propagated by non-governmental organizations.

Mdinaradze further elaborated that the upcoming bill would closely resemble its predecessor, with the term “agent of foreign influence” being replaced by “organization carrying the interests of a foreign power”.

President Salome Zourabichvili has criticized the proposed bill,  labeling it as a “Russian law”, in contrast to assertions made by the ruling party. She has accused the GD government of aligning its policies with those of Russia.