Georgia’s parliament on Friday dropped plans for a “foreign agents” bill that had triggered a major domestic political crisis and threatened to derail the Caucasus nation’s bid for closer ties with Europe, Reuters reports.
Lawmakers voted against the legislation in the second reading on Friday, according to the Georgian parliament’s website, after the ruling Georgian Dream party pulled its support for the bill.
Tens of thousands of Georgians had taken to the streets in the capital Tbilisi for three consecutive nights of protest against the initiative, saying the government was trying to take the country in an increasingly authoritarian direction.
Police used tear gas, stun grenades and water cannon to disperse the protesters, who had amassed outside parliament in centre of Tbilisi, detaining dozens in the process.
The bill would have required non-government organizations that receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register with Georgia’s Justice Ministry as a Foreign Agent.
