Police tried to disperse a rally in front of the Georgian Parliament in the capital Tbilisi ahead of the Parliament Juridical Committee meeting to discuss the law on foreign influence.

The bill would require media and non-governmental organisations, and other non-profits to register as “pursuing the interests of a foreign power” if they receive more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad. Critics see it as a threat to media freedom and the country’s aspirations to join the European Union.