US threatens action against NATO applicant
Western officials claim that Georgia’s crackdown on foreign influence “undermines democracy” | The US is looking into how it could punish Georgia over a ‘foreign agents’ bill which was recently passed in the country's parliament, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a congressional hearing on Wednesday. ● Georgia’s Transparency of Foreign Influence Act would require non-profit organizations, media outlets, and individuals which derive more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as entities “promoting the interests of a foreign power” and disclose their income and sponsors or face fines of up to $9,500. ● The legislation ignited weeks of violent protests and clashes across the country, which is an applicant to both the EU and NATO. ● Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili vetoed the bill on Friday, but the gesture is considered to be largely symbolic, as the Georgian Dream party has a majority in parliament and is expected to overrule it.
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