German Foreign Ministry spokesperson Sebastian Fischer said that Georgia could lose its status as a candidate for accession to the European Union (EU) if a bill on foreign agents is adopted by the parliament.
“Last year, tens of thousands of Georgian civil society representatives protested against this bill and it was removed from the agenda. Whether Georgia will lose this chance will be decided after consultations with other EU countries.”
The statement coincided with the visit of Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze to Berlin. Kobakhidze will meet with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz during his visit.
Earlier, the United Nations Human Rights Council had described the draft law on foreign agents as a threat to freedom of expression and association in Georgia and called on the authorities to withdraw it. Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili also criticized the initiative, describing it as a sabotage by the authorities that could derail Tbilisi from its EU path.
Another warning regarding the draft law in question came from the United States. US State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller expressed his concern about the resubmission of the draft law on the status of foreign agents to the Georgian parliament and said that he believed that this move would take the country off the European path.
