The governing party in the country of Georgia on Monday submitted to parliament a draft law calling for media and non-commercial organizations to register as being under foreign influence if they receive more than 20% of their budget from abroad. The measure is nearly identical to a proposal that the governing Georgian Dream party was pressured to withdraw a year ago after large street protests.
It is also crucial for the EU accession process,' Peter Stano, spokesman for the EU's foreign-policy arm, said last week. The law would require non-commercial organizations and news media that receive 20% or more of their funding from overseas to register as “pursuing the interests of a foreign power.” That phrase is the only change from the draft that was withdrawn last year, which said that relevant groups must register as “agents of foreign influence.