The European Union calls on Georgia to repeal the “Russian law,” as the United States and NATO have warned

European Foreign Minister Josep Borrell called on the Georgian parliament on Wednesday to repeal the controversial “Russian law”. Parliament approved this law on Tuesday, which means that organizations that receive more than 20 percent of their budget from abroad are classified as “foreign agents.” According to Borrell, this has “negative consequences for Georgia on the way to the European Union.”

Georgia became a candidate member of the European Union last December. However, at the end of April, Borrell had already announced that he found the law “incompatible” with EU values. He added on Wednesday that he believes the law undermines the work of civil society and a free press. He also said he condemned the “intimidation, threats and physical attacks” carried out by police towards protesters.

German parliamentarian Michael Roth, who was visiting the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, in April, said at the time that negotiations on Georgia's accession were unlikely if the law was passed. Georgian demonstrators, who have taken to the streets of Tbilisi in their tens of thousands in recent weeks, have long feared that adopting the law would block the path to the European Union.

US and NATO warnings

The United States also warned Georgia against implementing the law. On Tuesday, the US State Department threatened to cut funding to Georgia if that happened, she wrote Watchman. The United States spent billions of dollars over the years rebuilding Georgia after the fall of the Soviet Union.

NATO, which Georgia also wants to join, was also highly critical on Wednesday. A spokesman for the Military Cooperation Association told Reuters news agency it was a “step in the wrong direction.” According to NATO, the law would also distance Georgia from European and Euro-Atlantic integration. “We urge Georgia to change course and respect the right to peaceful protest,” the spokesman said.

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