Georgia passes controversial law
Despite ongoing mass protests, the Georgian parliament has passed a bill on "foreign influence" in its third and final reading. Under the new legislation media outlets and NGOs that receive 20 percent or more of their funding from abroad will be deemed to be "pursuing the interests of foreign powers" and subject to close monitoring by state agencies. The media see Georgia caught in the web of tensions between Russia and Europe.
Make the consequences be felt quicker
Tagesschau.de calls on Brussels to send a clear message to the Georgian government:
“If things keep going in this direction there will be no accession negotiations. But there must be a clear deadline. Because that is a key problem with EU enlargement – it sometimes drags on for years, even decades. During the many years of investigations, discussions, votes and surveys, governments change, new centres of power emerge, wars can break out, public enthusiasm for the EU ebbs away and in the end the EU opponents win. ... The enlargement process definitely needs to move faster and have consequences if certain demands are not met.”
Not the first crisis of this kind
Georgia experienced something similar in 2012, economist Vakhtang Partsvania points out in The Moscow Times:
“Back then the parliament was dominated by another party, Mikheil Saakashvili's United National Movement, which in its attempts to usurp power also took steps to limit the political resources of the opposition and the independence of the media, suppress peaceful protests and curtail citizens' rights. Back then, the crisis ended with the defeat of the ruling party in the next parliamentary elections and the peaceful transfer of power to Georgian Dream. Today's political crisis seems to be developing along the same lines in view of the parliamentary elections set for October 2024.”
These protests reaffirm the EU's ideals
Regardless of the outcome of the power struggle in Georgia, Visão sees the pro-European demonstrations as a hopeful signal for Europe as a whole:
“The Georgians' ongoing protests against their country's forced rapprochement with Russia and in favour of maintaining their course towards a united Europe are currently one of the greatest proofs of confidence in the validity of the European project - even in one of its most difficult and challenging phases. The crowds filling the streets of Tbilisi and waving flags with European symbols are the best demonstration of the fact that the strength of the EU lies in its ideals and values.”
Orbán will make Europe even more toothless
In view of Brussels' tardy reaction, IQ voices concern at Hungary's upcoming presidency of the EU Council:
“The EU's long hesitation is an ominous warning of what may lie ahead for the Union between 1 July and 31 December when Hungary holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union. And it's not just about Georgia, but about all issues in which the 'foreign agent' in the EU [Viktor Orbán] will expand his power. No wonder the EU is in a hurry to reach an agreement on the 14th package of sanctions against Russia by the end of June, and hold a conference that would allow accession negotiations to begin with Ukraine and Moldova.”
Georgian Dream becoming a Russian nightmare
The situation will escalate further, Othar Zourabichvili, chairman of the Georgian Association in France and brother of the Georgian president predicts in Le Monde:
“Risky times are ahead. The adoption of the draft law by parliament on Tuesday, 14 May, is likely to be followed by a presidential veto, which in turn will be overruled by a final parliamentary vote. Georgian Dream does not want to back down or lose power, and is stepping up its repression of the exemplary demonstrators. ... But the population, more than 80 percent of which is resolutely pro-European, is not prepared to back down. ... The mask has fallen. Georgian Dream has turned into a Russian nightmare. The Georgians will not accept that.”
Civil society is the only hope
Georgia is facing a political occupation, warns Gordonua.com:
“Georgians are being beaten up on the street, poisoned with gas and attacked with water cannons, arrested and imprisoned, but still they continue to protest. It's so painful to watch this political occupation of the country, which may now be finalised with a 'foreign agent' law that is by no means merely symbolic. Under the law anyone who opposes the ruling party's pro-Russian line will be accused of working for a foreign state and penalised. This must not be allowed to happen. Life under occupation is unbearable.”
A clash of generations
Tvnet compares the protests with the Maidan in Ukraine:
“This is a generational struggle between the old generation of the Soviet population, who want to continue to follow the Russians, and the young generation, who don't want to remain dependent on Russia. Young people want to join Europe, but the Kremlin and its supporters in Tbilisi naturally aren't happy about that. ... The situation in the Georgian capital increasingly resembles the earlier events in Kyiv. In other words, what happened on Maidan Square in 2013 in Kyiv. ... It's already clear that the protests will continue.”
A dilemma for Brussels
EU sanctions against Georgia would play right into Russia's hands, warns the Tages-Anzeiger:
“Should the EU suspend visa-free travel for Georgians? Or even threaten to withdraw Georgia's candidate status? It's all very tricky. By doing this Brussels would make it clear to the government that there is a lot at stake, but it would also disappoint for years to come a population the overwhelming majority of which wants to join Europe. It would be a success for Moscow if the EU were to turn away. And it would also make it easier for Russia to increase the pressure on Georgia's neighbour Armenia, which is in the process of tentatively emancipating itself from Russia and turning towards the EU. All of this is a dilemma for Brussels.”
Things may look different again in autumn
Der Standard anticipates a change of government in the upcoming parliamentary elections:
“The governments in the South Caucasus have been trying for years to strike a political, economic and military balance between the EU-Nato bloc and Russia. ... The Georgian population now seems to have finally made up its mind. ... The demonstrators will probably not achieve their short-term goal of stopping the law from coming into effect. But as early as this autumn they will have the chance to vote out the ruling Georgian Dream party orchestrated by the pro-Russian oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili and replace it with a party that reflects the majority opinion which favours joining the EU and Nato.”