Post #151258

Georgia presses on with 'foreign agents' bill opposed by EU Georgia's parliament on Wednesday approved the first reading of a bill on "foreign agents" that the European Union said risked stifling freedoms and blocking the country's path to membership. The fate of the bill is widely seen as a test of whether Georgia, 33 years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, intends to pursue a path of integration with the West or move closer towards Russia. Eighty-three of 150 deputies voted in favour while opposition MPs boycotted the vote. The bill, which has provoked days of protests, must pass two more readings before becoming law. read more