Georgian parliament committee overrides veto on foreign agents law

The Georgian Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee rejected President Salome Zurabichvili’s veto on the law on transparency of foreign influence.

The move by the parliament’s judiciary committee sets up the possibility of a vote of the full legislature tomorrow to override Zurabichvili’s veto of the measure.

"The veto has been overturned in the committee. Accordingly, this subject is closed," head of the Legal Affairs Committee Anri Ohanashvili said after the voting.

The motion will now go to parliament for consideration at the plenary session on May 28. 

On May 14, the Georgian Parliament passed the law On the Transparency of Foreign Influence in the third reading, thus drawing sharp criticism from the EU and threats to suspend the country's EU integration. 

On May 18, the Georgian President vetoed the law that was reintroduced by the ruling Georgian Dream party against a backdrop of ongoing public protests and criticism from Georgia’s foreign partner states before its adoption by the Parliament.