Georgian parliament speaker signs foreign-agent bill into law

TBILISI. June 3 (Interfax) - Georgian parliament speaker Shalva Papuashvili signed the bill on Transparency of Foreign Influence into law on Monday after Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili refused to do so.

"I have signed the bill on Transparency of Foreign Influence into law. The law was opposed both inside and outside the country for the sole reason that the people of Georgia wants to know more about the transparency of operations of non-governmental organizations," Papuashvili said at a press briefing.

Non-governmental organizations that get over 20% of funding from foreign countries will have to submit income declarations to the Justice Ministry, he said.

The Georgian law on transparency of non-governmental organizations is the most humane of similar laws adopted in other countries, Papuashvili said.

The Georgian parliament passed the bill on Transparency of Foreign Influence on May 14. Zourabichvili vetoed the bill on May 18, and the parliament overrode her veto on May 28.