User:Stdntacc/2023–2024 Georgian protests

European Union

On 17 April, Josep Borrell, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Olivér Várhelyi, Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, issued a joint statement on the bill, saying that they found it "concerning" that the Georgian Parliament passed the bill "despite repeated calls by the European Union to retract such legislation".

On 11 May, the EU ambassador to Georgia Paweł Herczyński stated that the bill "must not be passed in its current form".

The European Union scrambled to adopt a common position regarding a Georgia draft law. A joint EU27 statement had been negotiated by the EU member states since 13 May, but it ultimately failed to materialise as Hungary and Slovakia blocked the initiative against the bill, objecting on the premise that they "did not think it is right for the EU to interfere in the domestic politics of a third country".

On 15 May, Josep Borrell with the European Commission issued a Statement on the adoption of the bill by Georgian MPs which took place on 14 May. He stated that the EU stands with the Georgian protestors and condemns "the intimidation, threats and physical assaults on civil society representatives, political leaders and journalists, as well as their families is unacceptable". He concluded that "the adoption of this law negatively impacts Georgia's progress on the EU path. [...] We urge the Georgian authorities to withdraw the law, uphold their commitment to the EU path and advance the necessary reforms detailed in the 9 steps. The EU stands ready to continue supporting Georgians working towards a European future."

United States
On 26 April, Deputy Spokesperson of US State Departament Vedant Patel said that the State Department found Georgian Transparency bill to be "incredibly troubling".[156]

On 27 April, U.S. Senators Jim Risch (R-ID), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Chair of the Europe and Regional Security Cooperation Subcommittee, co-wrote a bipartisan letter signed by 12 of their colleagues[a] expressing "profound concern" about the foreign agents bill, warning that its passage would mark a "a shift in U.S. policy toward Georgia."[158] The letter called CSOs the "lifeblood of Georgian democracy" that have invested million of dollars "to support Georgia’s sovereignty and democratic transition" and that if the bill were to be passed it would "cast Georgia’s strongest partners, the United States and European Union, as malign actors."[158] The letter also said that if the bill were passed, the Senate would begin proceedings into sanctioning GD leadership and lawmakers, the end of U.S. financial assistance to Georgia, and the expansion of visa bans to the United States.[158]

On 14 May, U.S. officials threatened to sanction Georgian politicians due to the approval of the bill by Georgian MPs. After speaking with Georgian officials, Assistant Secretary of State Jim O’Brien said to the media that "if the law goes forward out of conformity with EU norms and there’s undermining of democracy here and there’s violence against peaceful protesters, then we will see restrictions coming from the United States. Those tend to be financial and/or travel restrictions on the individuals responsible for those actions and their families." Furthermore, the White House Press Secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre told Turan Information Agency that the U.S. expects the President of Georgia to veto the bill. She elaborated that if the parliament overrides the potential veto and if the legislation, which runs counter to the democratic EU and NATO values, were to pass, then "it will compel us to fundamentally reassess our relationship with Georgia."