News brief

Georgia’s “foreign agents bill” is a threat to EU membership. A senior European Union official warned the Georgian government on May 2 that its proposed legislation on “foreign agents” was unacceptable and would be an obstacle to the country’s hopes of joining the EU if adopted in its current form. The bill, which would require organizations receiving more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as agents of foreign influence, has sparked a rolling political crisis in the South Caucasus country. 

Young Georgian demonstrators are hoping to block a Moscow-inspired law on “foreign agents,” which they worry will be used to stifle criticism of the government.