Georgia's parliament passes law restricting foreign grants to local groups

By Felix Light

(Reuters) - Georgia's parliament passed a bill on Wednesday that bans foreign donor organisations from providing grants locally without government consent, amid a growing crackdown on civil society groups in the south Caucasus country.

The bill was unanimously approved by lawmakers of the ruling Georgian Dream party, which is regarded as increasingly anti-Western. Opposition parties have boycotted the legislature since an October parliamentary election they say was fraudulent.

It requires government approval for monetary or in-kind grants to Georgian organisations and citizens, with violators facing steep fines. It also bans international organisations from arranging events on behalf of Georgian political parties.

The bill comes as part of a broader government clampdown on Georgia's pro-Western opposition, including the passage last year of a law requiring organisations which receive money from overseas to register as "foreign agents."

Traditionally among the pro-Western and more democratic of the Soviet Union's successor states, Georgia has been gripped by on-and-off large anti-government protests over the past year.

In November, the ruling party's decision to freeze European Union membership talks until 2028 provoked an ongoing wave of protests, alongside a violent crackdown by authorities.

While it remains an official candidate for EU membership, Georgia's relations with the West have diminished, with the U.S., Britain and several European countries sanctioning top Georgian officials.

Georgian Dream says that it still wants Georgia to eventually join the EU, but also advocates balanced relations with Russia and the preservation of traditional values at home.

Earlier this week, parliament also passed the first reading of a bill which would give Georgian authorities broad powers to ban opposition parties. Final approval of the bill is not expected until local elections take place later this year.

(Reporting by Felix Light; Editing by Rachna Uppal)