Georgia EU hopes fade as parliament set to approve 'Russian law' on foreign agents

The legislation is about to be set in stone despite a final attempt by president Salome Zourabichvili to veto it.

Transcript

00:00Georgia's parliament has given the final green light to the controversial foreign agent law.

00:09The bill requires all organizations receiving at least 20% of their funds from abroad to

00:16register as an agent pursuing the interests of a foreign power or face hefty fines.

00:23Authorities said the new law is needed to limit alleged foreign attempts to influence

00:28domestic politics, but critics say it's going to significantly restrict freedom of speech

00:34on top of sabotaging Georgia's application to become an EU member.

00:39Georgia's president is among the critics and vetoed the bill, saying it mirrors Kremlin

00:45legislation.

00:46But a parliament committee on Monday overrode her move, clearing the way for Tuesday's final

00:52approval.

00:54Demonstrators took to the streets for weeks in the attempt to block the bill.

00:58Dozens were detained in clashes with the police.

01:02More rallies broke out on Tuesday in Tbilisi as demonstrators flocked to parliament ahead

01:08of the bill's approval.