Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze today accused the unnamed European Commissioner of "blackmailing" and issuing a "terrible threat", ahead of the new vote of the Georgian Parliament on the law on so-called "foreign influence" condemned by the European Union and the USA, against which demonstrations are constantly held and to which was vetoed by the President of Georgia.
According to Kobahidze, the "European Commissioner" in question mentioned in a telephone conversation the measures that the West could take if this law were to be definitively adopted.
On that occasion, the unnamed commissioner allegedly mentioned the recent assassination of the prime minister of Slovakia: "You saw what happened to (Robert) Fitz. You should be very careful."
In addition to this "terrible threat", Kobahidze also mentioned that "high-ranking foreign politicians are blackmailing the Georgian people and their democratically elected government".
Despite mass protests and warnings from Brussels and Washington, Georgia's parliament passed a "foreign influence" bill on May 14, which its opponents claim is modeled after a law used in Russia since 2012 to repress any opposition. the authorities of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Pro-Western President Salome Zarubishvili vetoed the law, but Georgia's parliament, dominated by the prime minister's Georgian Dream party, plans to overturn it in a vote expected next Tuesday.
Georgian laws allow for the presidential veto to be bypassed and for the law to come into force when signed by the speaker of parliament.
The law requires any non-governmental organization and media outlet that receives more than 20 percent of its funds from abroad to register as an "organization that pursues the interests of a foreign power" and to submit to the control of the Georgian state.
Georgia, a former member of the Soviet Union, became a candidate for membership in the European Union in December 2023.
Although Georgian Dream officially supports the constitutional goal of one day joining the EU and NATO, the party, which has been in power since 2012, has in recent years drawn the country closer to Moscow's influence.
Russia is under US and EU sanctions due to the invasion of Ukraine and the war it is waging against that country starting on February 24, 2022.
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