The US Senate Foreign Relations Committee on March 27 approved the MEGOBARI Act, a bill which reaffirms support for pro-EU protesters in Georgia and mandates sanctions on members of the governing Georgian Dream party.

The act backs the Georgian people’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations and provides for the implementation of sanctions against Georgian governmental officials responsible for democratic backsliding and human rights abuses.

“We have approved the MEGOBARI Act, sending a clear message to the Georgian people. We support their efforts to preserve their democratic future,” stated senator and Foreign Relations Committee member, Jaheen Shaneen, reported Civil.ge.

As bne IntelliNews reported, thousands marched in Tbilisi on March 23 in support of the bill, many waving US flags and carrying posters of the US Senators who introduced and reintroduced the act.

The acronym of the bipartisan ‘Mobilizing and Enhancing Georgia’s Options for Building Accountability, Resilience, and Independence’ bill, translates to “friend” in Georgian.

“The current government of Georgia has become increasingly hostile to the country’s independent civil society and its key Euro-Atlantic partners, while strengthening ties with Russia, China, and other anti-Western authoritarian regimes,” the newly passed bill states.

Shaheenm, who reintroduced the act in the Senate on March 10 along with senator Jim Risch, commented that the bill “includes sanctions against those who are trying to suppress peaceful demonstrations in Georgia”.

The MEGOBARI bill was first introduced by representative Joe Wilson, an outspoken GD critic, in May 2024 as a response to GD’s passing of the controversial “foreign agents” law in May 2024.