TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — A Georgian parliament committee on Monday rejected the president’s veto of the “foreign agents” legislation that has sparked massive protests for weeks.
The move by the parliament’s judiciary committee sets up the possibility of a vote of the full legislature on Tuesday to override President Salome Zourabichvili’s veto of the measure, which she and other critics say will restrict media freedom and obstruct Georgia’s chances of joining the European Union.
The ruling Georgian Dream party has insisted that the bill is needed to stem what it deems to be harmful foreign actors trying to destabilize the South Caucasus nation of 3.7 million people.
“It’s absolutely important for Georgia,” Maka Bochorishvili, a ruling party member who heads the parliamentary EU integration committee, told The Associated Press.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday announced that travel sanctions would be imposed on Georgian officials “who are responsible for or complicit in undermining democracy in Georgia.”
He added that “it remains our hope that Georgia’s leaders will reconsider the draft law and take steps to move forward with their nation’s democratic and Euro-Atlantic aspirations.”
The original article contains 529 words, the summary contains 186 words. Saved 65%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
This is the best summary I could come up with:
TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — A Georgian parliament committee on Monday rejected the president’s veto of the “foreign agents” legislation that has sparked massive protests for weeks.
The move by the parliament’s judiciary committee sets up the possibility of a vote of the full legislature on Tuesday to override President Salome Zourabichvili’s veto of the measure, which she and other critics say will restrict media freedom and obstruct Georgia’s chances of joining the European Union.
The ruling Georgian Dream party has insisted that the bill is needed to stem what it deems to be harmful foreign actors trying to destabilize the South Caucasus nation of 3.7 million people.
“It’s absolutely important for Georgia,” Maka Bochorishvili, a ruling party member who heads the parliamentary EU integration committee, told The Associated Press.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday announced that travel sanctions would be imposed on Georgian officials “who are responsible for or complicit in undermining democracy in Georgia.”
He added that “it remains our hope that Georgia’s leaders will reconsider the draft law and take steps to move forward with their nation’s democratic and Euro-Atlantic aspirations.”
The original article contains 529 words, the summary contains 186 words. Saved 65%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!