Due to mounting pressure from the United States and the EU, Georgia's government rescinded a draft bill similar to another piece of legislation that has been in effect in the US since 1938.

EU High Commissioner for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell and the US State Department’s firm pressure has been successful: the Georgian government withdrew its so-called „foreign agents law,” which would have required organisations receiving over 20 per cent of their funding from foreign sources to register as “agents of foreign influence”

What’s a ‘dark day for Georgian democracy’ is ‘absolutely democratic’ in the US

The US Embassy in Georgia has also joined the ranks of Western powers that have overstepped their authority to use force to prevent the law from being introduced in Georgia. The US Embassy in Georgia and the US State Department, among others, have openly criticised the proposal, saying that the adoption of the first reading by parliament is a „dark day” for Georgian democracy. “Pursuing these laws will damage Georgia’s relations with its strategic partners,” wrote the embassy.

US State Department official Derek Chollet also criticised the proposed Georgian bill.

Spoke with Georgia’s Prime Minister @GharibashviliGe on protests and draft foreign agents laws, which are against people of 🇬🇪’s desire for European integration and democratic development. We call on the government to protect peaceful assembly and protestors to protest peacefully

— Derek Chollet (@CounselorDOS) March 9, 2023

Apparently, the US Embassy either forgot, or is unaware, that a similar piece of legislation has been in existence in the US since 1938. Or perhaps they no longer care about maintaining appearances, elevating double standards to a whole new tier. .

V4NA has sent a written inquiry to the US Embassy. We wanted to know whether they are aware that the US has had a very similar type of legislation in place for decades now? We also asked what makes the US foreign agents law (FARA) „democratic,” if it’s foundations are identical to the Georgian government’s proposal, and we were curious to find out whether they knew that by criticising the Georgian legislation, they were also criticising the US legislation?

However, it was not only the United States that has interfered – for the umpteenth times – in the domestic politics of another country. Josep Borrell, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, also saw Georgia’s proposed „foreign agents law” as the undermining of democracy, and did not hesitate to implicitly threaten to block Georgia’s accession to the EU. When V4NA contacted him to ask whether he was aware that he had also implicitly criticised the legislation in place in the US, which is a strategic partner, the High Representative’s office replied that the statement exclusively pertained to Georgia. Thus, what is considered bad in Georgia is viewed as democratic overseas. Click here and here to read V4NA’s articles on the subject.