Georgia's parliament overrode the president's veto of the law on foreign agents

The Georgian president overruled President Salome Zurabishvili's veto of the "foreign agents" law.
The bill requires organizations that receive foreign funding to be labeled "foreign agents" and resembles repressive Russian legislation used to crack down on critics of the Kremlin regime. Zurabishvili vetoed the law on May 18, but two days later Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili announced that the ruling Georgian Dream party planned to override her vote, the Kyiv Independent reported.
Now the law will be returned to Zurabishvili, who will have 5 days to sign it. If the president refuses, the law will be signed by the speaker of the parliament.
The main provisions of the law will enter into force 60 days after its adoption, which is likely to happen shortly before the parliamentary elections in October.
While parliament's move to override the veto was not unexpected, the vote came days after the US announced it was imposing travel restrictions on lawmakers responsible for "undermining democracy" in the country. Restrictions will also apply to their family members.
US Congressman Joe Wilson has introduced legislation that would give Georgia a package of military, trade and visa liberalization incentives if it abandons the controversial law.
Several EU countries are calling for sanctions against Georgia over the bill, including the suspension of the visa-free regime. In response, some members of the European Parliament called for the suspension of Georgia's bid for EU membership.
However, "Georgian Dream" remained unmoved and continued to implement the law, intensifying its accusations against the USA and the EU./BGNES