Georgian Parliament Speaker says attempts to fight transparency bill with disinformation show that bill “is precisely” in interest of Georgian citizens

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Friday asserted that the controversy surrounding the domestic transparency bill, including attempts to discredit it with disinformation, underscored its importance for the Georgian citizens.

“In general, this process itself, responses and among them the attempts to fight this bill with disinformation and establishing a false narrative, show that the bill is precisely in the interest of the Georgian citizens, and it seems that there is a lot to hide from donors and NGOs”, Papuashvili said.

In his remarks over the matter, Papuashvili highlighted concerns over the foreign funding of domestic NGOs, particularly by the European Endowment for Democracy, emphasising the need for transparency in political funding.

“Yesterday, I had a meeting with the representatives of the European Commission and I spoke with them again about the projects of the European Endowment for Democracy. Once again, I received confirmation that there are some question marks in the funding by the EED, including in the European Commission, what issues this money is used for and what projects are funded. At the same time, there was an attempt to convince us that all this is being taken care of and the EED will change its attitude”, Papuashvili noted.

Papuashvili emphasised the need for public disclosure of funding sources and projects to ensure accountability and political neutrality.

“That is why it is surprising, on the one hand, to admit that there is political money flowing into Georgia, and on the other hand, to try to establish false narratives to prevent legislative regulations. The combination of these two issues raises questions: what are the intentions behind those organisations that spend money in Georgia”, Papuashvili concluded.

The Georgian Parliament on Wednesday approved the second reading of the bill on the transparency of foreign influence.

The bill on the transparency of foreign influence aims to ensure that NGOs disclose their annual financial reports, with penalties limited to financial sanctions for non-compliance.

Georgian Parliament last year retracted the bill on the transparency of foreign influence amid a backlash by domestic opposition, civil sector and diplomatic representations in the country.