On April 25, an anonymous Facebook page, Agentura, posted a message about amendments made by MEP Rasa Juknevičienė to the resolution of the European Parliament. The card accompanying the post lists the following demands: Saakashvili should be released, Ivanishvili should be sanctioned, the draft foreign influence transparency law should be halted, Bacho Akhalaia should be appointed Public Defender, Zurab Adeishvili should be appointed Prosecutor General, and Megis Kardava should be appointed Director of the Georgian National Film Center.
An identical post was published in the Facebook group საქართველო 🇬🇪 უპირველეს ყოვლისა🇬🇪. [Georgia First] on the same day.
Disinformation is being circulated about the text of the resolution adopted by the European Parliament on April 25. Neither the text of the resolution nor its amendments mention anything about the appointments of Bacho Akhalaia, Zurab Adeishvili, or Megis Kardava.
On April 25, 2024, the European Parliament adopted, by 425 votes, a resolution proposed by five parliamentary groups regarding Georgia’s draft law on transparency of foreign influence. In the resolution, the European Parliament condemns the reintroduction of the draft law on transparency of foreign influence and underlines that it is incompatible with EU values, contradicts Georgia’s aspirations for EU membership, damages the country’s reputation, and jeopardizes its Euro-Atlantic integration. The resolution also emphasizes that EU accession negotiations should not be opened as long as this law is part of Georgia’s legal order.
On April 25, along with the resolution, the European Parliament also considered two amendments to it, published (1, 2) together with the resolution document. The author of the first amendment is Anna Fotyga of the European Conservatives and Reformists Group, and the author of another amendment is Urmas Paet of the Renew Group.
The first amendment: the European Conservatives and Reformists Group
The amendment proposed by the European Conservatives and Reformists Group consists of two paragraphs. In this amendment, the resolution calls on the EU Council and the EU partners to impose personal sanctions upon Bidzina Ivanishvili, who returned to active politics in December 2023 in an “attempt to undermine the western-oriented course of the country in favour of pivoting towards Russia… and for working against the interests of its people.” This amendment also calls on Georgian authorities to release former President Mikheil Saakashvili and to allow him to receive medical treatment abroad.
The second amendment: the Renew Group
The Renew Group’s amendment consists of three paragraphs. The European Parliament calls on the European Commission to swiftly assess the impact of Georgia’s planned law on Georgia’s fulfilment of the visa liberalization benchmarks, in particular the fundamental rights benchmark, which is “a crucial component of the EU visa liberalization policy.” In addition, the amendment urges the Georgian Dream majority to withdraw its proposed constitutional legislation, which infringes on LGBTIQ rights and “represents an attack not only on the LGBTIQ community, but also on freedom of speech and a free civil society.” Moreover, the amendment calls on the Georgian authorities to release former President Mikheil Saakashvili on humanitarian grounds and to allow him to receive proper medical treatment abroad.
It is worth noting that after the European Parliament adopted, in 2022, a resolution on violations of media freedom and the safety of journalists in Georgia, in which it expressed concern over the significant deterioration of the media situation and the safety of journalists in Georgia, anti-opposition and pro-government anonymous Facebook pages, together with government experts, embarked on a campaign to discredit members of the European Parliament. Pro-government experts also criticized MEPs in 2023, when MEPs reacted to the launch of impeachment proceedings against President Salome Zourabichvili.
About “Agentura”
The Facebook page Agentura was created on February 17, 2023. It was originally called Georgian Archive, but has changed its name several times since then.
This Facebook page regularly publishes materials discrediting Georgian opposition politicians and journalists, as well as former US Ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan. Most of the posts are anti-Western and homophobic in nature.
In September 2023, the Facebook page was involved in a campaign to discredit President Salome Zourabichvili. In late July 2023, the page was also involved in a campaign to discredit Georgia’s fourth president, Giorgi Margvelashvili. On July 24, the page posted disinformation that Margvelashvili received USD 11,500 for praising Saakashvili.
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