CoE Sec Gen urges Georgian MPs to wait for Venice Commission’s opinion before adopting transparency bill

Marija Pejčinović Burić, the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, on Thursday urged the Georgian MPs to wait for the Venice Commission’s opinion on the controversial draft law on transparency of foreign influence before its final adoption.

Burić said she was “deeply concerned” by the developments unfolding in Georgia and regretted the Parliament’s adoption in the second reading of the transparency bill “despite calls by Georgia’s international partners to withdraw it”.

An enabling environment for civil society and the media is essential for a vibrant and fully functioning democracy. Transparency should not be used as an instrument to stigmatise civil society organisations and limit their capacity to operate freely”, she added.

The CoE Sec Gen condemned the violence in Georgia’s capital city of Tbilisi over recent days and denounced the “disproportionate use of force against demonstrators”, expressing hope that the constructive dialogue would continue between Georgia and the CoE.

The protests are held against the bill that calls for registration of non-commercial legal entities and media outlets in the country as “pursuing the interests of a foreign power” if they derive more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad.